Just A Little Heat
by makesmyheadspin
Summary: A Brainmates collab. The Hep-V threat is still very real as, is the threat that Sookie will need a vampire to pair off with but we think there's a much better option for her than Bill. Namely a tall, blonde Viking who nearly burned to death on the side of a Swedish mountain. Will Sookie and Eric finally end up together and will Bill finally get what's coming to him?
1. Try

**Okay, so Scribe and I were profoundly disappointed with the way the finale went for several reasons. Therefore, we came up with a plot that we think works way better than what the writers did because I, for one, am convinced they dropped acid before writing that shitshow. So without further ado, here is our take on the way the things could go, going forward. I can't promise you daily updates but we have a full plot figured out for this bad boy. Enjoy!  
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Chapter 1: Try

"_Funny how the heart can be deceiving more than just a couple times. Why do we fall in love so easy even when it's not right? Where there is desire there is gonna be a flame. Where there is a flame someone's bound to get burned, but just because it burns doesn't mean you're gonna die. You've gotta get up and try, and try, and try." –Pink_

**Åre, Sweden**

Eric had quite a head start on Pam, but she tracked him by her blood. He was alive, relatively speaking, and that was what she cared about most. His turmoil was troubling and even though Pam knew she _could_ do it all alone, she didn't _want_ to. All of her tantrums and arguments with Eric in the last few months had been about wanting to keep him close. He had taught her well but there was something about his presence that had always kept her steady.

From the very night they met way back in San Francisco while she was still human, Pam had felt a certain level of comfort when she was near Eric. She felt as though they understood each other. If she was the sentimental sort she might even go so far as to think they could be soul mates, but that wasn't Pam's style any more than it was her maker's. So she flew as fast as she could in Eric's direction, hoping to catch up with him before he did something foolish he couldn't take back.

He had taught her everything she needed to know about how to be a good vampire. Pam was well aware that she would be nothing but rotted meat and bones by now if it wasn't for Eric's decision to turn her. He could have let her die that night in her room at the brothel, but he hadn't. Above all, her maker chose life. He had saved lives more often than he took them—which isn't to say he hadn't been the source of carnage at some points, but killing had never been a sport for him the way it had been for some vampires.

At first Pam thought maybe Eric was heading for Ørland, but he continued to head east into Sweden. The mountains in Sweden were only minimally better than that windy shithole in Norway. Her hair was windblown enough, after all. She knew Eric would feel her approaching and she was prepared to brawl with him if she had to.

What she wasn't expecting was to feel the sunscreen of Bill's blood losing its effect. It happened quickly and Pam put all the speed she could into reaching Eric, hoping that wherever he was, he was indoors. Her instincts screamed at her to find shelter as her skin began to smolder but she wasn't going to give up.

And then there he was, kneeling in the snow with smoke rising from his burning body. Without hesitating Pam aimed right for him and plunged them both into the snow, burying them underneath it until nightfall, or for longer if need be, while Eric recovered. They weren't in the Arctic Circle so the sun would set, although not for very long. Just long enough to get him a donor would be good. Eric was in terrible shape when she reached him and Pam wasn't doing too much better, but they had avoided the true death.

As soon as he was back to his full strength, she fully intended to kick his ass for doing this.

"You shouldn't have come," Eric somehow managed to rasp.

"Fuck you," Pam replied. "We'll talk about this after dark."

No more words were spoken before both of them died for the day.

**xXx**

**Bon Temps, Louisiana 6 Months Later**

"Alcide, get the lead out! Your hair looks fine!" Sookie called from the entryway of the old farmhouse.

She slipped on her flip-flops and grabbed a denim jacket from the coat hooks by the front door to take along with her in case it got chilly outside.

"I wasn't messing with my hair," Alcide said as he came down the stairs.

"Uh huh," Sookie said with a knowing smile. He had been fussing with it when she left him up there nearly fifteen minutes ago. "Don't worry, honey, you look very pretty," she teased.

"Thank you, darling," he smiled and leaned down to kiss her.

"Alright, so one hour. We make an appearance, mingle a bit and have something to eat and then we're out of there," Sookie replayed the plan. Frankly, it was all a formality. She wasn't interested in the idea of a vampire buddy system. That never seemed to work out too well for her in the past and she was positive this time would be no exception.

"Sounds good to me," Alcide said, and offered her his arm.

Sookie grabbed her purse off the little table by the door, along with her keys, and then took Alcide's arm as they walked out of the house. She turned around to lock the door and paused when she mentally felt the void of a vampire coming their way. Alcide sniffed the air and she heard him growl.

"Vampire," she said quietly, although she was sure he already knew that.

"I know," he said, and moved to stand protectively in front of her.

"Maybe it's just Jess swinging by for a visit or something," Sookie suggested.

It wasn't completely out of the ordinary for that to happen on account of them being neighbors and all. Minus Jessica's nasty habit of trying to get Sookie to reconsider her maker for a potential beau, Sookie enjoyed spending time with her ex's progeny.

"It's not Jess," Alcide said with a growl.

"Can you smell who it is?" Sookie asked, leaving her keys dangling in the lock in case she needed to go back into the house.

"No, I see him," he said, and in the next second the vampire in question was standing on the porch with them.

"Eric?" Sookie gasped in surprise. He had been missing since the day the vampires were liberated from that awful camp.

"Hello, Sookie," Eric said with a smile.

"What do you want?" Alcide asked.

Sookie tugged on Alcide's hand since there was no reason to be rude about the visit.

"What are you doing here?" Sookie asked in a much softer, kinder tone than Alcide used.

Eric looked down at their hands, and then smiled at Sookie once more.

"I just wanted to see how my favorite waitress was doing," he said.

"She's doing just fine now that you fuckin' fangers are staying away from her," Alcide practically barked.

"Alcide, I can speak for myself," Sookie reminded him. She locked the door to the house, deposited her key in her bag and then stepped around Alcide to be face to face with Eric for the first time in months. "I'm doin' alright, Eric. Thank you for askin'. How've you been?"

"I've been better, but I'm back," he said. "Just got in, in fact."

"And you came here first thing. Surprise, surprise," Alcide growled. "Hun, we're gonna be late."

"Can you just give us a minute?" Sookie asked him, pleading with her eyes to give them some space.

"You so much as drop fang, and they'll be pickin' what's left of you up with a sponge," Alcide threatened before walking past Eric to go wait in his truck.

"So you're happy now?" Eric asked.

Sookie smiled a little and said, "Most days. He uh... he's protective after everything that's happened."

"What has happened?" he asked. "I'm afraid I've been out of the country."

"Ah, so you don't know that I was almost a faepire bride?" Sookie asked. "Just when I think my life couldn't possibly get weirder, Warlow came along."

"A faepire bride, huh? How did that come about?" Eric asked. "The last I knew Bill told me that you were protecting Warlow and wouldn't let him help me save my sister."

"I'm sorry about that," Sookie's smile faded. "I didn't know she was sick. Warlow offered me a deal. He would agree to give Bill his blood to save the vampires if I agreed to be his fairy bride and then let him turn me we would always be together. Only you snatched up Adilyn and used her to get on the fairy plane yourself. Pretty sneaky."

"Once again Bill proves to be untrustworthy. I don't know if his blood would have saved her. I believed it strongly then. But I am happy to hear I inadvertently saved your life. It would be a shame to see you become a vampire."

"Thank you for that, by the way," she said, much the same as Eric had thanked her after he'd staked Russell outside the fairy club. "So my light hasn't gone out then?"

"No," he smiled. "It's very much still there."

For a minute they just looked at each other but then Alcide mentally broke into her thoughts by broadcasting her way. She jumped and then looked to the left to see him sitting impatiently behind the wheel of the truck. She held up her hand, asking for one more minute.

"Look, I have to get going, but I'm happy to hear you're back," Sookie said.

"Where are you two lovebirds off to anyway?"

"Well, Sam's the mayor now," Sookie revealed, and his eyebrow lifted curiously. "It's a real long story, but he and Bill partnered up on a plan to help stop the spread of Hep-V. We all got tested earlier to see if we're carriers and so there's this town social thing goin' on at Bellefleur's to get the results from the blood tests. I haven't been bitten since Warlow almost drained me in Fairy and his blood was the last I took when we- doesn't matter. The point is, I know I don't have it and I know Alcide doesn't either. Bill and Sam want the humans who aren't carriers to buddy up with healthy vampires."

Eric raised eyebrow got a little higher at certain points of her story and then said, "How did the Hep-V spread? We destroyed all the cases of TruBlood from the camp."

"Some had already made it out before that," she said. "I think they pinpointed the outbreak startin' in Hawaii if I heard right."

"Shit," he said, and pulled out his phone to send a text. "Do you mind if I accompany you to this soiree?"

"You can do whatever you've got a mind to," Sookie said with a shrug. "I can't promise I'll be your buddy all night, though."

"I don't imagine your dog would like that either," Eric grinned, and looked back at Alcide, giving him a cheeky wave.

"Be nice!" Sookie admonished and boldly smacked his arm as she passed him by. After descending the steps she turned to look up at Eric. "He's been good to me, Eric. He keeps me safe and he's been a good friend. I really can't ask for anything more than that."

Eric went down the steps quickly and leaned down to whisper near her ear, "The Sookie Stackhouse I remember didn't need anyone to keep her safe." He placed a small kiss on her cheek, and then shot up into the sky.

Sookie stood there stunned for a moment before she turned toward the truck. She knew Alcide's eyes hadn't left them for a heartbeat so he had seen Eric kiss her cheek and he had probably heard _everything_ that was said if the red, angry swirls in his head were any indication. At that moment she was especially thankful she couldn't hear him because she was sure he wasn't thinking anything she wanted to know. Sookie walked over to the truck and climbed up onto the bench seat beside him.

"You heard everything, didn't you?" she asked after she pulled the door shut.

"Yes," he growled.

"He's been out of the loop, Alcide. I haven't seen him since the night Bill turned into Billith. The last I heard of him was after his sister got sick with Hep-V and the vampires needed to be rescued from that camp."

"Where's he been then?"

"I didn't ask," she replied with a shrug. "I didn't ask and he didn't say."

"I don't want him coming around," he said. "I've never liked that asshole."

_You liked him enough to let him bail your father out of debt_, Sookie thought, but kept it to herself. It would just start a fight if she brought all that up.

"Eric Northman has his pros and cons just like anyone else, and I don't think you'll need to worry about it. I've moved on and I'm sure he has too," Sookie said as Alcide started the truck.

"Good."

There was still some tension between them when they arrived at Bellefleur's. After Arlene got the insurance money, she bought Merlotte's from Sam. Having the bar gave her a steady source of income, the ability to be her own boss and something to focus on other than missing her husband. With Sam running for office he hardly had time to run the bar as well, so it happened to be a case of excellent timing for all concerned.

"There is one more thing," Sookie said when Alcide parked the truck toward the far end of the lot so they wouldn't get blocked in. She was sure Alcide had heard it when Eric asked, but she figured she might as well reiterate it so Alcide wouldn't start thinking she was keeping things from him. "I think Eric's plannin' on puttin' in an appearance here too."

"I heard. He can stay away from us when he arrives."

Sookie slid out of the truck and then walked around to take Alcide's hand when he offered it to her.

"You know, you could try to be friends with him," she suggested. "It would sure make my life easier if I wasn't dealin' with pissing contests right and left."

"You know we just don't get along with vamps. Especially not ones that used to have relationships with our women," he said.

"It's in the past, Alcide," Sookie squeezed his hand as they walked along. "But if I'm bein' honest, Eric's still important to me. I don't see a reason why he and I can't be friendly with each other when we happen to cross paths."

"As long as being friendly doesn't include sex, I guess I'll live with it."

"It won't. I don't cheat," she assured him, and tugged him down to kiss his scruffy cheek.

The space outside the bar was full of tables, food and just about everyone in town. Sookie spotted Tara talking to Willa off to the side. Jessica was near the stage, watching her vampire boyfriend James and his band play on the stage. Reverend Daniels and Lettie Mae were making their rounds. She noticed that Jason wasn't there, but then his nights were usually pretty busy on account of Violet. The jury was still out on how Sookie felt about the vampire that had claimed her brother, but Jason seemed to be mostly happy with their living situation so Sookie kept her opinion to herself on the matter.

"Thirsty?" Sookie asked Alcide.

"Yeah, I could drink a beer or five."

She smiled up at him and said, "You go find us a place to sit and I'll get us drinks."

"Okay," he smiled back, and leaned down to give her a kiss before she went off to get the drinks.

Alcide really was a good guy deep down and she knew that he worried for her wellbeing. He had been around to see her at her lowest. She had thought it couldn't get much worse than it had been in Jackson and boy was she ever wrong. Warlow was much worse than what Russell had thrown her way. There was an easy evolution in their relationship. Alcide being around after Terry died and the whole Warlow debacle had meant a great deal to her.

It had given them a chance to find their footing again as friends and without Debbie Pelt waiting in the wings to screw everything up or mess with Alcide's head, he seemed to be thinking much clearer. He was totally focused on Sookie and not another girl waiting in the wings. The same could be said for Sookie since she had committed herself to giving up vampires for the time being. To her surprise, Bill had mostly stayed away from her over the last few months.

She supposed he had been too busy writing his memoirs from his time as a demigod, but it had allowed her to get the space she needed in order to think clearly and get all the vampire blood out of her system. She felt... free.

She hadn't felt like that since before she met Bill on that fateful night inside the very bar she was standing outside of. Oh how things had changed since that night.

_The girl in the white dress..._

Sookie shook the words away and presumed it could very well be Eric approaching when she felt the void coming toward her, but when she turned her head Sookie was pleasantly surprised to see Tara.

"I didn't think you'd show up for this," Tara said.

"I wasn't sure I was gonna, but I figured I might as well try to make nice," Sookie replied with a shrug and reached into a giant bucket full of ice and longnecks.

"That makes two of us," Tara said.

"Did you find a buddy yet?" Sookie asked as she popped the top off the bottle and took a sip. She still wasn't much for drinking, especially in crowds, but it was a special occasion and a few sips wouldn't hurt her.

"No," Tara folded her arms. "Ain't none of these greasy motherfuckers appealin' to me _at all_."

Sookie smiled and wished she could offer her oldest friend a beer so they could commiserate, but their days of unwinding with a cold one on a warm summer night were over.

"How's it going with Alpo?" Tara asked.

"Al_cide_," Sookie corrected. Tara really had fallen off the Northman tree.

"Same difference," Tara shrugged.

"It's goin' alright. I'm surprised you're here since I'm guessin' Pam's back in town too."

"How the fuck did you know that?" Tara looked at her suspiciously.

"Eric stopped by the house as we were leavin'."

"So that explains the grump on his face," she nodded toward Alcide. He was sitting alone at a picnic table. "Or is that his default setting?"

"Where vampires are concerned, that's his default settin'."

"Fuckin' werewolves," Tara shook her head and then offered an apology.

"It's alright. I'm done tryin' to play peacemaker between y'all. I'm never gonna change his mind just like I'm sure I'll never change a vampire's."

"That's a safe fuckin' bet."

Sookie took another pull from the beer and then turned toward Tara. Their friendship had endured a lot, particularly over the last few years. The fact that Tara was even speaking to her was nothing short of a miracle and a testament to the kind of person she was underneath all of her bitterness, resentment and anger.

"Listen, Tara, I uh... I feel like I owe you an apology. I know I made a choice on your behalf that you never would have made for yourself and it was damn selfish of me. The most selfish thing I've ever done," Sookie said. "I'm not sorry you're still here but I am sorry that you didn't get to choose this for yourself."

"I was real fucked up then, Sook," Tara said without looking at her old friend. "I think it's fair to say I had a fuckin' death wish. You're my sister I would take that bullet for you a hundred times, but I was ready to die that night. I felt like I had fuck-all left to lose. It never crossed my mind in a million years you would ask that bitch to turn me."

"I couldn't let another person die because of me," Sookie said softly, but knew Tara would hear her. "My parents, Gran, Sophie-Anne, even those awful Rattrays and Uncle Bartlett... all of 'em died because of me. Maybe some of 'em had it comin' more than others did, but it was hard knowin' that there was a body count with my name on it. I couldn't bear the thought of you bein' on that list."

"You're right I wouldn't have chosen it for myself," Tara said after a minute. "We both know I was fuckin' livid at first, but I don't feel like I'm a victim anymore. I got friends that understand me and what I'm goin' through. Jessica, Willa, even Pam when she's not being a grumpy bitch."

"I'm glad, Tara. I'm happy you found a place where you feel like you fit," Sookie said sincerely.

"What about you? You fit with the new guy?"

Sookie took another drink of the beer and said, "With him I can have all those things I dreamed about when we were kids, but deep down I didn't think I'd ever get to have."

"That's good, Sook." Tara turned toward Sookie. "You deserve to be happy too. Does that mean you're done hookin' up with vampires?"

"I don't know," Sookie said honestly. "For now it does. Alcide and I have only been seein' each other a few months so it's too soon to go around tellin' people I'm off the market for good, but for right now I'm happy."

Tara nodded and she was about to say something else when Lettie Mae approached.

"Tara?" she called out, getting both Tara's and Sookie's attention. "Tara Mae, can I talk to you a minute?"

"Come find me later. Maybe we can wow the townsfolk with that talent show dance that almost got us suspended," Sookie said with a smile.

"You're on, bitch," Tara replied, and Sookie made her way through the crowd to bring Alcide the beer in her hand.

Alcide held his hand out to her and tugged Sookie down to sit on his lap. He took the beer from her and she leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"How's your friend?" he asked, and sipped from the bottle.

"She's doin' better, I think," Sookie replied, watching curiously as Tara followed her mother inside the bar. "I'm not so sure about her mama sniffin' around her. Lettie Mae isn't exactly known for her quality motherin' skills."

Sookie spotted Sam and his fiance, Nicole, dancing near the stage. She was set to pop in the next couple of months and made a cute pregnant girl. It was good to see Sam in a happy place. He seemed to enjoy being the mayor of Bon Temps, although she never thought she would see the day when Sam would partner up with _Bill_, of all people. Sookie still didn't trust him and after the way he treated her when it came to Warlow, she wasn't anxious to be anywhere near him.

She meant what she said when she called him a fuckin' monster, but the conversation had been an eye opening one for her. It proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that any feelings he may have had for her were long gone and that he meant what he said in that room back in the Authority. Yet, there was one niggling thought that wouldn't leave her alone and it was what fueled her in staying away from him as much as possible. It was something Bill would never admit out loud, but all evidence pointed to Sookie being correct.

Bill needed _her_ a hell of a lot more than she needed _him_.

As soon as Sookie realized that, it became easier to distance herself from him. All of the lies, manipulations and betrayals were still fresh in her mind. At first after Warlow died, she found herself lying awake at night replaying scene after scene from her past, trying to figure out where it all went wrong. She replayed all of the conversations she had with Bill that had made her suspicious of him. The fact that she had ignored her instincts for so long where he was concerned was a real thorn in her side, but it made Sookie determined not to fall for that nonsense all over again.

No more vampire blood in her system. No more being anyone's drinking fountain. She wasn't interested in being anyone's miracle like she had been in the eyes of both Bill _and_ Warlow. All Sookie wanted was to be normal. She didn't really want to be the answer to someone's prayers-she didn't want to be someone's salvation. It put too much pressure on the relationship when it came time to sink or swim, and it seemed like she was the one who ended up doing all of the sacrificing to make it work.

What Sookie wanted, more than anything, was a partner.

As if on cue, Sookie turned her head to the left and spotted Eric. She watched as Willa ran to him, jumping into his open arms. For all of his brooding and sometimes iciness, Eric also had a warmth and a zest to him that was unparalleled. It was his will to live, his fight to survive any obstacle put before him that Sookie found herself attracted to the most. She watched the two vampires embrace and Eric say something to Willa she couldn't hear.

"You hungry?" Alcide asked, breaking into her thoughts.

Sookie looked away from Eric and into the deep, dark eyes of her boyfriend. She could see his suspicion there and his discomfort with the knowledge that Eric was back in the picture. Sookie wanted to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about, that she wasn't going to go back on her word where vampires were concerned, but knew it would most likely only give Alcide something more to worry about. She had said her piece already and continuing to deny there was anything going on would only make Alcide think she was only trying to convince herself.

"Starved," Sookie replied and accepted the kiss he offered before standing her up.

Although she wanted to, Sookie forced herself not to look back at Eric. What she did do, however, was brush her fingers of the spot on her cheek where his lips had been.

Eric was back in more ways than she wanted to admit.


	2. Reminder

**We are so jazzed y'all are digging this little story so far! Scribe and I are rocking this out like whoa. We're almost done with chapter 5 already so there's stuff banked up that will hopefully allow us to update faster. We won't do more than one chapter in a day though. There's a long way to go until next season stars so we don't want to blow our load too fast. But, to thank you all for your super awesome reviews and whatnot yesterday, here's chapter two.**

**Also, I promised dragonfey57 that I would amend yesterday's statement about the writers dropping acid when they are CLEARLY smoking crack. Better now? lol**

**Happy reading!**

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Chapter 2: Reminder

"_A constant reminder of where I can find her, a light that might give up the way is all that I'm asking for. Without her I'm lost but my love, don't fade away. So I watched the world tear us apart. A stoic mind and a bleeding heart. You never see my bleeding heart." -Mumford & Sons_

Bill arrived on foot to the social gathering at Bellefleur's. He made it a point to return to Bon Temps so he could attend the function that had been carefully planned out with the help of the new mayor and the town widow. The publicity surrounding his book kept him quite busy in the last few weeks, but it was being fairly well-received.

The Hep-V outbreak honestly couldn't have come at a worse time for vampires, but there were certain perks to it since Bill was going to need a non-carrier human to be his personal donor. His sights were clearly set on Sookie and he was prepared to do what was necessary to get himself back into her life. Her blood was unparalleled in flavor and she had always responded well when having his blood in the past. To his way of thinking, it was only a matter of time before she cut ties with that waste of time mutt she had been fooling around with for the last few months and came back to him.

He blamed her outburst outside his home where she had referred to him as a 'fucking monster' on what was happening with Warlow and her distress over Terry Bellefleur's death. Sookie had tried to eliminate him from her life in the past, even going so far as to stake him, but she had never been able to resist him for long. It was only a matter of time, he was sure of it.

When Bill noticed Sookie walking alongside Alcide as they left the social, he strolled in their direction and came to a stop at the bed of Alcide's truck.

"Sookie. Herveaux," Bill nodded.

"Compton," Alcide nodded back.

"Bill," Sookie said, tucking herself into the werewolf's side.

"I trust that your test results are favorable?" Bill looked at Sookie. The Were's health was of no importance to him whatsoever.

"They were, but I'm not signin' up for this buddy system y'all devised. I've done my time feedin' vampires," Sookie replied.

Bill noted the smirk on Alcide's face and his own face puckered in response.

"You're going to need someone to keep an eye out for you," Bill reminded her. "This mutation has created a breed of vampires with no conscience."

"So you can be their king," Sookie said smugly. "And as you can see, I already have my protection."

"She'll be safer with me than she ever would be with you," Alcide said.

"Barring a flea and tick infestation," Bill quipped.

Alcide's eyes glowed orange and he growled at Bill.

"Bill, you are _never_ gettin' your fangs in me ever again," Sookie said firmly, and moved to stand in front of Alcide. She wasn't afraid of him.

"You heard her," Alcide said. "It would be best if you just go on into the party and find someone else."

Bill narrowed his eyes at Sookie, but she didn't back down even a little. Okay, so it was going to take a little more work to get her to see things his way. He tore his eyes away from Sookie and then continued to stroll toward the social, leaving Sookie and the Were behind him.

**xXx**

Eric stood beyond the line of trees, hidden by the leaves and foliage of high shrubs. He'd overheard everything that was just said between Sookie, Alcide and Bill and he found himself proud of Sookie for standing her ground where Bill was concerned. Her attachment to Alcide was somewhat bothersome but he was happy for her in a way. She had moved on and she seemed... lighter, less burdened than the last time they were together.

He could not, however, overlook the fact that she had staked her once beloved Bill to save his life when she thought he might be killed. It was a big step for Sookie. She had been so reluctant to really cut ties with Bill, but the shift in her loyalties was clear when she plunged that stake into Bill's back without a hint of hesitation.

Now it seemed Bill was right back to his old tricks. So much for his firm belief that Sookie was an abomination. It was no surprise that he was interested in her again now that he had a use for her. It was a relief to hear Sookie flat out reject what passed for advances for Bill and sounded like threats to everyone else.

A brief conversation with Willa had filled him in on the basics of what had been happening around the area since he left. He was aware of the Hep-V outbreak since it was all over the news. His time in Sweden with Pam had been very beneficial to him. It had allowed him the time he needed to grieve, get his head on straight and repair his relationship with his progeny. It had taken several weeks to recover from the severe burns he had suffered, but it was impossible to tell he had ever been so close to the true death.

"Where's Pam?" Tara asked from behind him.

He was still unsure about his progeny's choice of children, but what was done was done and Pam was adjusting well to being a maker, all things considered. There was a certain sense of poetic justice in the way she had become a maker, given the way she had forced Eric's hand.

"At Fangtasia," he answered.

"That's real fuckin' nice," Tara grumbled and turned to go.

"Grow up."

From Eric's perspective, Tara had potential to be a good vampire but her attitude needed some serious adjusting and there was no time better than the present to air it all out.

"That's fuckin' rich comin' from the asshole that's abused and abandoned his child-"

Eric was a blur of fangs and anger as he grabbed Tara by the throat and slammed her against the nearest tree trunk. She bared her fangs and hissed at him in response.

"Listen closely, newborn. There is a chain of command you're going to learn to respect and you are at the bottom of the chain. I am not interested in your critiquing. You have potential as a vampire, but never forget that as your maker's maker, I can command her to end you," Eric warned her. "Am I understood?"

Tara nodded her head as much as she was able.

"Good. Now put the baby fangs away and go see your maker," Eric ordered, and retracted his fangs before he let go of Tara's throat.

Tara retracted her fangs and straightened her clothing before taking off in a blur of motion in search of Pam.

Eric contemplated a fly by at Sookie's house, but decided not to. He didn't want to cause trouble for her. Instead he took to the sky and headed to his house for the first time in almost a year.

**xXx**

Sookie pulled on a nightgown and yawned. It had been a long day and she was ready to hit the hay. Alcide was in the bathroom brushing his teeth. They weren't living together but he spent more nights with her than not. She closed the closet and turned for the bed. Sookie tossed the throw pillows off to the side and pulled back the comforter.

She had been thinking about moving down to Gran's old room, but couldn't seem to spend the night in there with someone else after having been in that room with Eric. The cubby was still there under the house and hadn't been used since the fight with Warlow. She'd thought about having it filled in, but didn't really see the point. It would be an expense she didn't need to incur and there was always that possibility a vampire friend might be in need of a place to crash at some point so it just made more sense to leave it as it was.

When Alcide left the bathroom he got into bed beside her and asked, "What hours are you working tomorrow?"

"I close tomorrow," Sookie said.

After the bar had switched owners, Arlene had promoted her to assistant manager. In order to spend more time at home with the kids since she was back to doing it on her own, it made more sense for her to be working just during the day while they were at school. It wasn't unusual for Mikey to accompany her to work and no one seemed to mind having him around. He was a generally happy baby who loved flirting with the older female customers. That boy had more surrogate grannies than any kid in town.

"I'm going to be starting a new job in Alexandria the day after so I'll probably crash at home so we don't wake each other up," Alcide told her.

"That's fine," Sookie said, and leaned over to kiss him goodnight. "Thank you for tryin' to understand about Eric."

"There's nothing difficult to understand," he said.

"I know, but I appreciate it all the same. I know you think he's an asshole and Eric sure has had his moments but... he's not Bill," she said. "He's _nothing_ like Bill."

"He still can't give you the things I can."

"And that's why I'm here with you," Sookie said, shifting herself to straddle his lap, "Instead of followin' him back to Shreveport."

Alcide wrapped his arms around her small waist and said, "I'm happy you're here with me."

"So am I." Sookie leaned in to kiss him and then rested her head on his shoulder.

"How tired are you?" he asked.

Sookie lifted her head and smiled at him.

"Not so tired I need to go to sleep right this second, but tired enough that I don't want to go for a run with you," she answered.

"How about something in the middle?"

"What'd you have in mind?" Sookie asked, although she already knew from the growly tone of his voice.

"I think you know," he grinned as his hands gathered up the hem of her nightgown.

Her smile grew and she lifted her arms so he could take her nightgown off, and as soon as it was gone he flipped her under him and planted his lips on hers.

**xXx**

The next night Sookie was busy at work when Jason came into the restaurant, still in uniform.

"Take a seat anywhere, Jason. I'll be right with you," Sookie promised as she passed by him with her arms stacked with baskets and plates.

She took the food to the booth toward the back. Arlene had done some redecorating after taking over the bar and it was a little brighter and a lot less like a dingy hunting lodge. The place was almost classy.

Sookie stopped by the bar and got Jason a beer before going over to his table and setting the stein down for him. They were spending more time together in the last few months, even though his nights were mostly occupied by Violet. Sookie could relate, having spent her fair share of time in a relationship with a vampire. She didn't hold it against Jason that he mostly kept to seeing her during the day.

"Thanks, Sook."

"You're welcome. Where were you last night? I didn't see you at the social," she said casually, assuming he was with Violet.

"I was with Violet," he said.

Sookie smiled knowingly. "How's that goin'?"

"It's frustratin'."

"Uh oh." Sookie pulled out a chair and sat down. She only had a few minutes to chat but she would risk Arlene's wrath for this. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"You don't wanna hear 'bout my sex life," he waved her off.

"Not really," Sookie agreed. "But I wanna help if I can."

Metaphors weren't really Jason's strong suit but he had the ability to get creative when he needed to.

"Well, she ain't touched me once yet, but she's been makin' me go south with my mouth every damn night. My tongue hurts."

For a moment Sookie just blinked. There had been those awkward moments when she had left her mind unguarded and saw things in her brother's head she wished she hadn't. She figured they were adult enough to have a talk about this sort of thing without it getting too weird.

"Is she just shuttin' you down or are you not tryin' to move things along?" Sookie asked.

"She says she's makin' me work for it," he sighed.

She smiled and said, "Sounds like you're workin' overtime."

"I am, and I done everything she asked of me. There's damn girly shit all over my basement now 'cause of her."

"Well outside of the sex, is everything good? I mean, if it's just sex then why are you stickin' around?" Sookie asked him.

"I think I have to."

"Why? She doesn't own you, Jason. If you're unhappy you can leave anytime you want," she said.

"I ain't unhappy, just frustrated. She's hot as hell, and she protects me. And she protected you," he pointed out.

"I know she did, and I'm grateful for it," Sookie said and reached over to take Jason's hand. "I just don't want you feelin' trapped, Jase."

"Thanks Sook, but I'm alright," he smiled for her. "Hungry though."

"Want the usual?" Sookie asked him as she stood up.

"Yeah, thanks."

"You got it," she said, and then jotted down his usual order as she headed for the remodeled kitchen.

Lafayette was in heaven now that his kitchen functioned better and there were new appliances for him to play with. Sookie put the ticket in the window and then went to check on her other tables. Andy strolled in and took the seat she had been sitting in at Jason's table. She tried to think of some sort of solution to Jason's problem but unless Violet was willing to go further there wasn't anything Sookie could think of that wouldn't come off seeming rapey. Jason was just going to have to stick it out or cut his losses and find someone else.

"Sook," Sam called out from behind her and she turned around to see him and Nicole standing there, both of them smiling.

"Hey there," she smiled back and crossed the dining room to give Sam a hug. She and Nicole weren't really friendly enough for hugs just yet. "Look at you, Nicole. Y'all know what you're havin' yet?"

"We want to be surprised," she smiled as her hand settled on her pregnant belly.

"We'll find out soon enough," Sam added and laid his hand on top of Nicole's.

"Y'all take a seat and I'll be right there," Sookie told them after handing over two menus.

Sam and Nicole departed to find a table while Sookie went to the kitchen to put in a new order and pick up food for another table. After delivering it she went back to get water for Sam and Nicole. She delivered it to their table while they looked over the menus.

"Can I get y'all something else to drink?" she offered.

"I'll take a sweet tea," Sam said.

"I'm sticking to water, thank you," Nicole said.

"Sure thing. I'll be right back with that tea." Sookie turned and went back to the drink station to get Sam a glass of sweet tea and then returned to the table with it. "Do you need a minute?"

"I'm ready if you are," Nicole said to Sam.

"I'm ready. Go ahead," he gestured to Nicole.

Nicole gave Sookie her order and then picked up her water to take a drink while Sam gave his.

"Great. I'll get this in for ya right away," Sookie said, and then turned again to head to the kitchen.

Jason's order was ready when she got there, so she picked it up and headed over to his table to drop it off.

"Andy, can I get you anything?" Sookie asked while she set down the basket with Jason's burger and pickle chips.

"No thanks, Sookie," Andy said in that gruff voice of his. "I'm havin' dinner with my daughter."

She smiled at him and before Jason could ask for it, she produced a bottle of hot sauce.

"Thanks," he grinned.

"You're welcome. If you need anything just holler," Sookie said before she turned again and headed across the room to drop off a check for a table that was ready to clear out.

After she dropped it off, Sam caught her as she walked by.

"Sookie, I noticed you weren't on the buddy registry last night," Sam said.

"Uh, nope, I'm not. I got my test but I'm not interested in bein' a drinkin' fountain," she told him.

"I know, but Sook, with all the vamps out there with the mutated form of Hep-V, it's not safe for you to not be paired up with someone. It's just for feeding purposes, that's all," Sam said.

"Yeah, I heard your proposal, Sam. The problem with that is, I know how vampires are and it might start out as just feedin', but it won't stay that way and I don't want to end up some vampire's property again," Sookie said. "It's my choice and I wish you would respect my decision to take my chances on my own."

Was he thinking he would pair his baby up with a vampire too? Who was Sam fixing to feed? Who had Nicole paired up with? For some reason she couldn't see him subjecting their baby to being a human juice box, and that was precisely what Sam was proposing. Just to sate her own curiosity, Sookie did a quick check of Sam's head to make sure he hadn't been glamoured into going along with this plan. The Sam Merlotte _she_ knew never would have gone along with this.

"Sook, I know you've been through a lot with vampires," Sam said gently. "That's why I think you need to get on board with this program. I never thought I'd be workin' with vampires either but I need to protect my family. I got a baby to think about now and I want him or her to have a safe life. If that means workin' together with the vampires to make sure of it, then that's what I'm gonna do."

"I'm sure we can find a suitable partner for you if you can't find one yourself," Nicole offered.

"That's a real nice offer and all, but I think I'm going to take my chances on my own," Sookie maintained.

Sam frowned but knew Sookie well enough to know that once she got an idea in her head it was going to take a lot to change her mind.

"I'm just gonna go check on your order," Sookie said, and then walked away from the table.

If Sam was right and she really did need to pair up with a vampire for protection there was only one she could think of that she trusted enough to pair up with. Maybe a visit to Fangtasia after work was in order.

* * *

**Okay so I realize this chapter was choppy and skipped around a bit. We'll try to keep that to a minimum going forward but I can't make promises on that either. Hopefully you'll stick with us anyway. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Separate Lives

**This chapter is a little shorter but it's pretty much all Eric and Sookie so that might help stop the bleeding of your shipper hearts out there. I know Scribe and I felt tons better after writing this. We also started posting this on our blog yesterday (there's a link to the Brainmates Blog on my profile) and we're including the music we're using to inspire this story as well as the Polyvore things I come up with. Gotta love Wordpress for the ability to add visual aids and what not, right? Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3: Separate Lives

"_You have no right to speak to me so kind. We can't go on just holding on to time. Now that we're living separate lives. Well I held on to let you go and if you lost your love for me, well you never let it show. There was no way to compromise. So now we're living separate lives." -Phil Collins_

Fangtasia was just about as dead as the vampires running it. Pam was behind the bar filing her nails, looking bored as ever. There were a few of the areas underlings dancing in cages and on the stage like it was business as usual, but the outbreak of Hep-V was yet another thing that scared the humans into staying way. As a result, business was suffering big time. Eric sat on the throne, although he wasn't sure why he even bothered. There was just a handful of hardcore fangbangers in the bar and none of the vampires present were going to bother biting them unless they knew for certain whether or not the blood was clean.

Unless a cure could be discovered and the infected vampires could somehow be inoculated, it was only a matter of time before Eric would be forced to close the bar for good. All things considered, it had a good run. The wheels in his mind were turning already about how to get things back online, but it would cost him significantly to do so and he wasn't sure it was worth the investment or his time. Perhaps it was just time to cut his losses and leave the area.

The Authority had been disbanded and had yet to be reestablished. Vampires were basically running amuck without any sort of order and he knew from his personal contacts that many of the older vampires had already jumped ship and moved out of America. What was left was a band of misfit newborns that knew nothing of the old ways of doing things. The Sanguinists had definitely fucked up the balance that Roman's mainstreaming policies had created. There was no more Nan Flannigan getting in front of TV cameras to smooth things over when bad shit popped up. All that was left was Bill's ridiculous book that Eric wouldn't even purchase to use as kindling.

Just as he was about to give up and head home for the night, the room brightened exponentially. The smell of sweetness and sunlight wafted toward him and he didn't even need to lift his eyes to know who that smell belonged to.

Sookie.

"What happened in here? Did Pam smile and scare everyone away?" Sookie joked as she walked further into the bar.

The corner of Eric's mouth lifted in amusement while his child lifted an eyebrow at Sookie's sass.

"I wonder if she tastes as good as she tells jokes," Pam fired right back.

"Better," Eric said as he stood and went over to stand in front of Sookie. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I was hopin' you might have a minute to talk," she said, and then looked around the mostly empty bar.

"Of course," he said. "Please join me in my office."

Sookie nodded and then turned to head for the employee only door that was off to the left. Eric followed her into the office and shut the door behind him.

"Can I get you something to drink?" he asked.

"No, thanks, I'm fine," Sookie said. She dropped her purse on the leather couch and then took a seat on it.

Eric took a seat next to her, but didn't sit too close.

"What do you need to discuss?"

"I'm guessin' you know more now about this Hep-V buddy system plan that Sam and Bill came up with?" she questioned.

"I do," he nodded.

"Bill approached me last night as Alcide and I were leavin' the social," she informed him, although Eric already knew about it. "He made it clear that I'm gonna need his protection until this outbreak is cleared up."

"Of course he did," Eric said. "And what did you tell him?"

"That I'm just fine on my own and I'm not interested in bein' his drinkin' fountain ever again. I don't want him or his fangs anywhere near me," Sookie said defiantly.

His insides warmed at her sass and determination.

"Much different than the girl who ended things with us both because she simply couldn't choose," he said with a wry smile.

"Well, I think it's safe to say a lot has changed since then for both of us. I know _I've_ changed since then."

"As have I."

"You know, I kinda feel like a recoverin' alcoholic," she told him. "For the first time in a long, long time I don't have any vampire blood flowin' through me. I'm completely clean and livin' my life _my_ way without any influence from anyone. I forgot what it feels like."

Even though Eric would have liked to have them exchange blood again, he knew the time was not right. If he should ever be lucky enough for her to drink his blood, it would be her choice.

"I am glad Bill no longer holds any influence over you through his blood."

"So am I," she agreed. "I appreciate what you said to me last night before you left. I haven't felt this strong in a real long time and I feel like in some way I have you to thank for that."

"Why is that?"

"Because you saw me the way I wanted to see myself," she admitted. "You saw my strength and you saw my worth, and you tried your hardest to get me to see those things were already in me. I just needed to find them."

"I am glad you finally have. I never understood why you could not see your own worth."

"It's complicated," she started. "I spent my first twenty-five years feelin' like I was a freak. Everyone around Bon Temps knew me as Crazy Sookie, the girl who smiles at the wrong time or sometimes answers a question that wasn't asked out loud. My own parents tried to kill me-"

"They _what_?"

Sookie took a breath and said, "The night my parents died, my daddy was fixin' to drown me in the river that runs through town. Mama tried to stop him at first, but then she went along with it. Warlow actually saved my life that night and killed my parents instead."

Eric was scarily silent and still as stone.

"Your own parents wantin' you dead for bein' different has a way of affectin' the way you think of yourself," Sookie continued. "I didn't find out about this until Warlow came around. Before that, I had an awful lot of Bill's blood in me, makin' me dependant on him. He had me fooled into thinkin' I couldn't make it on my own, that I needed him in order to survive to the point that I felt like I had nothin' left if I didn't have him by my side."

"I'm sorry about your parents," Eric said. "And I'm sorry it took you learning that information to find your worth."

"Sadly, that's not the bottom of the barrel," Sookie confessed. "I think the turning point for me came after Warlow proposed that faepire deal. I went to Bill to ask him about bein' a vampire. I think we both know he has some issues with bein' turned against his will, even though he'll stick his fangs in me every chance he gets if I let him," Sookie said with an air of annoyance. "Anyway, I went to ask him about all that and he wasn't interested in talkin' about it or givin' me any kind of advice. All he wanted was Warlow. He didn't care what it cost me as long as he got what he wanted. I think I realized then that I was out of options. I gave Warlow my word to go through with things and then you snuck into Fairy and almost drained him. You could have killed him and you didn't. I'm not sure why you didn't finish him off and I suppose it's not real important since he's dead now anyway. Then between you and Bill, everyone got out of that awful place and I… I realized I wanted to live. I didn't want to die. I still don't and that's part of why I'm here."

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"I'm here because if Bill and Sam are right, and I really do need to buddy up with a vampire there's only one I trust enough to do that with," Sookie said. "You trusted me when I didn't trust myself, Eric. I know we've had our ups and downs but I also know that you would never hurt me. So I guess I'm here to ask that if it comes down to it, and I have to pick someone, would you mind me pickin' you?"

He tried not to smile, and failed. Though it wouldn't be the ideal way for him to be in her life, if he could help protect her, he would.

"I would not mind that at all," he said. "I'm assuming you would not be agreeable to having my blood again so that I will know when you are in trouble."

Sookie chewed her bottom lip for a moment before she said, "I'd need to think about that."

"Take all the time you need. If it happens it will be your choice. And now you know what it will do to you."

"I do," she said with a nod. "I would have to talk it over with Alcide first and I can pretty much figure out right now what he's gonna say about it. I understand why you'd make the offer and I do appreciate you wantin' to keep your end of the bargain by protectin' me from whatever unwanted attention I might get with this fancy blood of mine, but because I do know what your blood will do to me, it makes me nervous to take it."

"Just a drop or two will be enough, and you'll only have dreams. If you're committed to the dog, it shouldn't be a problem."

Sookie narrowed her eyes at him.

"Will you please stop that? It's bad enough hearin' it from him and I think you underestimate how much influence those dreams can have," she said.

"I think you underestimate how little I have to do with how your dreams manifest."

"Is that right?"

"My blood only magnifies what is already there, Sookie."

She snorted and said, "Well, that sure as shit explains a lot."

Eric simply raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's personal," she said, fighting a smile and turning her head away from him.

"I suddenly wish I shared your dreams."

Sookie laughed and said, "Yeah, I bet you do."

"Tell me, Sookie. Is it as good in your dreams as it was in real life?"

Slowly, her head turned until she was facing him. There was a healthy glow on her cheeks and a little bit of mischief in her eyes.

"Not even close," she answered.

He smirked, and said, "If you ever want the experience again…"

"You can stop right there, mister," Sookie said with a laugh and a shake of her head.

"Again, it will be your choice."

Sookie smiled and she said, "I'm with Alcide, Eric. I take that seriously. I'm not sure where it's going or if he's the right one for me, but right now I'm committed to him. This proposal of mine is blood for protection and last time I checked, I don't need to have sex with you in order for you to be able to protect me efficiently."

"I didn't say you had to," he said.

Sookie looked like she might argue with him for a second but then her expression softened and she changed the subject.

"So, where did you go runnin' off to after you finished up at vamp camp?" she asked.

"Sweden," he said.

"How was it?"

"It was alright until I started to burn," he said.

Sookie's eyes went wide. "Say what?"

"I was on a snowy mountaintop when the blood wore off," he said. "I burned, and was close to death when Pam flew in and buried us in snow."

"Oh," she said with a look of surprise on her face. "That was a close call. I guess on the bright side at least you got to see the sun again."

He looked away from her and said in an even tone, "I wanted to die until I began to."

"Eric," Sookie reached out and put her hand on his.

"Did you wonder where I was these last six months?" he asked.

"I thought about you from time to time. It's kinda hard not to when I have that eyesore in my livin' room where the cubby's at," she told him. "But I didn't ask. I figured if you went off someplace and left Willa behind you probably didn't want anyone trackin' you down… especially me."

"You would have been a welcome person to find me," he said. "But I'm glad you didn't. I was angry. I will be a rightful maker to Willa now, as will Pam to Tara. And that cabinet is not an eyesore. I had that matched to fit the aesthetic of your home."

Sookie smiled and squeezed Eric's hand just a little.

"You know I don't think I ever really said thank you for what you did. That house means a lot to me and I don't know what I woulda done if I had come back from Fairy to find out that someone else was livin' there that didn't have my last name," Sookie told him.

"As I said at the time, I never gave up on you, Sookie. I never will."

"I know. I didn't used to, but I do now," she said softly and then pulled her hand away to put it in her lap instead.

"How quickly should I be expecting a call from you?"

"I'll get back to you in the next couple of days. It's too late to talk to Alcide tonight, so maybe the day after tomorrow?" Sookie shifted on the couch and Eric could sense her nervousness. She chewed her bottom lip for another few seconds before she asked, "Are you… have you fed recently?"

"Not since before I left Sweden," he said.

"Do you need to?"

"I can last another day or so if I need to."

Sookie turned her hand palm side up, exposing her wrist to him.

"You're sure?" she asked.

Eric's fangs itched to come out, and he wanted to take her blood, but he didn't want to be opportunistic and shake her trust in him. He looked at her wrist like a man dying of thirst in a desert. He remembered all too well what her blood tasted like.

"I would love to taste you again," he said. "But I am not in dire need yet, and have no desire to cause strife in your relationship, should the dog find out."

Sookie nodded and turned her hand over again before reaching for her bag.

"I think I should probably get going," she said as she stood up. "Thanks for talkin' to me and hearin' me out."

"I'll walk you out," he said, and stood up too.

Sookie slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the office door. Eric walked with her out to her car and saw that she was now driving a Volkswagen Beetle. A yellow one.

He smiled and said, "Traded in the yellow shitmobile for a better model?"

"I didn't have much choice after I ran it into a telephone pole," she answered while opening the driver's side door and tossing her purse inside.

"What happened?"

"The car was kinda under a spell, I guess you could say," she said. "Lucky for me I jumped out before the crash, but it still totaled my car."

"I am glad you are alright."

"Yeah, me too. I probably woulda gone through the windshield if I wouldn't have jumped."

Her mortality concerned him more than she would ever know.

"Then buckle up, Miss Stackhouse," he said.

"Always do," Sookie responded before she got into her car.

Eric stepped back and watched her drive off before going back into the bar. He informed Pam that he was leaving for the night.

"Following her home?" Pam asked without looking up from the drink she was pouring.

"None of your business."

Pam smirked knowingly and slid the finished drink down the bar.

"Don't chip a fang," she said.

"Thank you for your concern," he said, and then walked out of the bar.

Eric stayed far enough behind and above Sookie that she wouldn't notice him following her home. He just needed to make sure she got there safely. It was well after midnight and with the ravenous Hep-V infected vampires on the loose, he wasn't willing to risk her wellbeing. Sookie pulled up to her house and went directly inside. Herveaux wasn't around, which made him feel relieved.

He knew he probably should have turned and gone once she was safely inside but Eric stuck around, floating above the house just listening to her heartbeat until it slowed down and he was sure she was asleep. The sun was going to rise soon so it was time to head home.

"Goodnight, Miss Stackhouse," he whispered into the night, and then he was gone.


	4. November Rain

Chapter 4: November Rain

"_We've been through this such a long long time just tryin' to kill the pain. But lovers always come and lovers always go and no one's really sure who's lettin' go today, walking away. If we could take the time to lay it on the line I could rest my head just knowin' that you were mine, all mine. So if you want to love me then darlin' don't refrain." -Guns 'n Roses_

Sookie definitely had a lot to think about. First things first, she needed to make a decision with herself about how she felt about taking Eric's blood again. She knew what it would do to her. Sookie remembered all too well what his blood had done to her in the past, and even she was self-aware enough to know it was a very different experience from taking Bill's or Warlow's blood. There was nothing threatening or intimidating about having Eric's blood in her, aside from the fact that it seemed to act as a mirror for it.

His blood had forced her to face some pretty inconvenient truths in the past. She had been forced to think about her relationship with Bill because all of the dreams she had of Eric had pointed to the cracks in her relationship with the other vampire. Eric always seemed to be popping up to warn her, to point her in a direction that led her away from Bill and the death grip he'd had on her for so long.

This time it would be different, she told herself. Yes, just a few drops of Eric's blood would probably be enough to not only link them together again but also to start the dreams all over again. If there were any cracks in her relationship with Alcide, she had no doubt she would experience another round of dreams that would force her to examine what she was doing with the werewolf. Was she ready to do that kind of thinking and soul searching? She wasn't sure she was.

She was happy with Alcide. Taking Eric's blood might change that. It was obvious, after her visit to Fangtasia, that she was still attracted to him. She had felt the crackle of electricity between them and her body had reacted when she had put her hand on his. There was even a part of her that was a little disappointed when he didn't take her blood and then when he didn't try to kiss her as she got into the car to go home.

Of course that right there opened a can of worms. Why in the world should she be disappointed about those things? He was being respectful of her decision, well, as much as he could be considering his disdain for werewolves. Eric had teased her about the two of them having sex again and he had been bold enough to ask her whether or not her dreams were as good as the real thing, and it was absolutely no contest. Real Eric beat Dream Eric every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

But Sookie shook those thoughts away. Thinking about Eric and sex, while fun, was probably a bad idea because that wasn't at all why she had gone to Fangtasia. She had gone in good faith, knowing that she could trust him with her life. Partnering with Eric was one way to get Bill off her back-if she was lucky-and a way to align herself with a powerful vampire that she knew for absolutely certain would take good care of her if the need ever arose.

Sookie hoped it never came to that, but there was always the possibility. She fully intended to remain independent for as long as possible but it didn't hurt to have a plan in place for when the shit inevitably hit the fan. It was only a matter of time before something went horribly wrong so she might as well be prepared for it.

It was a slow day at the restaurant so while Sookie married ketchups after the lunch rush, she turned on the TV behind the bar and watched one of the news stations.

"Breaking news now, an arrest warrant has been issued for Sarah Newlin," the reporter said, and Sookie stopped what she was doing. She scrambled to reach over the bar and turn up the volume just a little since the TV was competing with Lafayette's music in the kitchen. "Authorities have determined through witness statements and sworn affidavits from several Louisiana state officials that it was the former wife of the recently deceased Reverend Steve Newlin who authorized the poisoning of the TruBlood supply that started the Hep-V outbreak. She's also being charged with first degree murder for the death of Hana Suzuki, along with dozens of violations against the Vampire Rights Amendment. Mrs. Newlin has been unreachable for comment and her attorneys are denying having any communication with her since she fled the research compound being illegally operated just outside of New Orleans." Sarah's picture flashed on the screen and then there were pictures of the facility where the vampires had been held after their capture. "Authorities warn that Mrs. Newlin may be armed and extremely dangerous. If you see her, please contact your local sheriff's office."

Sookie sat there in amazement. First of all, she knew that Jason had made it a personal mission to go after Sarah Newlin. Yet when he'd had the chance, Jason had been unable to pull the trigger and end Sarah's life. She was out there somewhere. Whether or not she had a pulse was debatable. There was a certain sense of poetic justice in the idea of her being turned into the thing she hated most. After hearing some of the things that had been going on in there from Tara, Jessica and Jason, Sookie had very little sympathy for Sarah. What little she had was for the woman's attempts to stop Steve from throwing her down in that basement in the Fellowship.

She finished marrying her ketchups and paused again when another story aired about a group of the zombie vamps attacking an outdoor movie theater in San Francisco the night before. Thirteen people had been killed and a special task force of law enforcement officials had to be dispatched to 'subdue' the ravenous vampires. She had a pretty good idea of how the vampires had been 'subdued,' and she was sure it wasn't something that could be shown on regular television.

"Be glad you're not here, Gran," Sookie whispered under her breath and took her tray of ketchups around the room to replace them on the tables.

The rest of her shift was slow so she was more than ready to get going when Holly came in to take her place. Sookie went straight home to shower and get the smell of grease and sweat off of her before going to Alcide's. She had a key to his place, not that she used it much, and planned on making dinner if Alcide didn't beat her to it.

By the time she got to his house in Shreveport his truck was already parked in the drive. Sookie let herself into the house and was about to call out to him when she noticed he was dozed off on the couch. She slipped off her shoes and tiptoed over to him. He was snoring lightly so she leaned down to give him a gentle kiss on his forehead before she moved on to the kitchen to get supper started. There were pork chops in the fridge so she took them out to give them a good rub in a blend of spices Gran had taught her to make for pork long, long ago.

She washed and poked a couple of large baking potatoes and then put them in the microwave to partially cook them before they went into the oven. Sookie was in the middle of shucking corn when she heard Alcide growl behind her from the doorway.

"Why didn't you wake me, beautiful?" he asked.

"I figured you were tired and needed the extra sleep," she said without looking up from her corn. "How'd your day go?"

"It was alright," he said and when he got behind her he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder. "Better now that you're here."

"I'm glad you think so." Sookie turned her head and accepted the kiss Alcide offered her.

His hands moved down and played with the hem of her jean skirt. He growled against her lips and then said, "I love when you wear shit like this."

"Skirts, you mean?"

"Yeah, skirts."

"They're comfortable on a warm day." Sookie turned and set the perfectly shucked ear of corn down on the counter and then Alcide spun her around to face him.

"They're also nice for when I'm in the mood," he said.

"I'm tryin' to make dinner," she said, but didn't fight it when he lifted her up and set her on the counter.

"Dinner can wait," he said.

Sookie bit her lip as he pulled off his shirt. He was definitely easy on the eyes. She was pretty sure she could do a whole load of denim wash on his stomach alone. Maybe someday she'd actually try it. For the moment, however, she was content to let him step between her parted thighs and wrap her arms around his broad shoulders when he kissed her.

It had taken some time to get used to the warmth of his body pressed against hers. She was so used to her lovers being cooler in temperature and Alcide definitely ran hot. He left her clothes on, which was sexy in its own way, and simply moved her panties to the side to touch her. Sookie unzipped his jeans and reached into them to touch him in return.

When the time was right and she was ready, Alcide pulled her closer to the edge of the counter and Sookie hitched her legs up around his waist. He lifted her off the counter when he entered her and her head fell back, smacking against the cupboard behind her. His growls and grunts were a huge turn on and the sex was always good but it dawned on her after he had his moment a few minutes later that it wasn't explosive.

There wasn't anything particularly… _wow_ about it. It didn't really bring them closer together, at least not on her end, and she didn't feel any deep connection. She cared about Alcide, but it wasn't as deeply as it should have been for where they were at in their relationship. He put her down so she could get herself cleaned up and he excused himself to go take a shower since he was still a little grimy from work.

While he showered upstairs Sookie got back to work on dinner and started to consider what she was going to say to Alcide about Eric. She didn't want to lie to him about the night before. For starters, she was a terrible liar, but it was more about wanting to have an open, honest relationship with him. She didn't want to hide anything, even if it meant pissing him off or hurting his feelings. Already she knew that he was going to object, if not outright forbid her from taking Eric's blood again.

She understood why. He had seen what she was like when she got lost on vampire blood and he had been there while she dusted herself off and kicked the nasty habit. He already lost one woman to vampire blood and she was pretty sure that if she disregarded his feelings on the topic and took Eric's blood anyway, it would be the end of their relationship.

When Alcide came down again Sookie had the pork chops and potatoes in the oven and the corn on the stove. She poured him a glass of iced tea and then joined him when he sat down at the kitchen table. His hair was still damp and he had trimmed back the scruff on his jaw.

"Thank you, hon," he said as he took the tea from her.

"You're welcome," she replied. "So um, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"After I got off work last night I drove up to Fangtasia to talk to Eric," Sookie said, figuring it was best to just spit it out.

Alcide's body tensed, and his eyes began to glow just a little.

"Why?"

"Because as much as I want to believe that I'll be just fine on my own through all this Hep-V shit, there's a possibility that I won't be and even though I know you don't think I can trust him, Eric is the only vampire I would trust enough to partner up with. _If I have to_."

"But your mind is already made up, isn't it?" he asked.

"No, it's not. When I asked him about it last night he said he would be agreeable to it if I ever needed his protection. He understands that it's not about sex or the two of us getting back together. What he did do was suggest that it might be a good idea if I had just a few drops of his blood so he would know if I was in trouble," Sookie told Alcide. "I didn't take it. I told him I needed to talk to you about it before I did something like that."

"You're not going to do that," he said firmly.

"Excuse me?" Sookie's eyebrows lifted toward her hairline. "Alcide, I want your opinion but I'm not askin' for your permission."

"The fuck if I'm going to let my girl take vampire blood again."

She sighed and said, "I know this is going to sound bad but… for the record, Eric's blood isn't like Bill's. He never tried to use it to control me like Bill and Warlow did."

Sookie knew that Alcide knew it all depended on the vampire the blood came from. Of course he didn't know Eric the way she did and he was prejudiced against vampires anyway. It could have been the Pope's blood and Alcide would have still objected.

"I don't care, you're not doing it."

She felt her temper rising. That fiery part of her that rejected authority and people telling her what to do wanted to let him have it.

"And if I do?" she asked instead, wanting to hear him say the words.

He stared at her hard for a moment and then said, "Then you won't have me anymore."

"So it's an either or situation, even if I take it for my own sense of security?"

"You don't need it, Sookie. I'll protect you."

"Did you hear about San Francisco last night?" she asked him. "Thirteen people are dead because of a small group of those super vamps. It's amazing none have been reported in Louisiana but it's only a matter of time, Alcide."

"Maybe that was an isolated incident. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you, and I'm sure that creeper Bill will always be hanging around too."

She sighed, knowing he was probably right about Bill.

"That's the other part of it. I feel like if I align myself with Eric, it might help keep Bill away from me. I don't trust Bill at all. He likes to say he's helpin' me but somehow I always end up hurt or almost dyin' or someone I love ends up like that. I'm tired of buryin' people I love because I make bad choices," she explained.

"This is another bad choice, Sookie."

"And if you're not around?" she pointed out. "I can't take on a group of ravenous vampires on my own, Alcide. Even on my best day I couldn't do that and my blood is like vampire crack. One whiff of me and I'm in deep shit."

Alcide sighed and said, "You're really going to make me agree to this bullshit, aren't you?"

"I don't even know if I want to do it. I know what will happen if I have his blood and I'm not sure I want to go down that road again. I'll tell you this, though… I offered him my blood last night and he didn't take it," she confessed.

That time his eyes did glow fully orange, and he growled.

"You what?!"

"I offered him my blood. He hadn't fed since before he left where he was the last few months so I offered him my blood. He didn't take it, Alcide. Eric's never treated me like I was his personal juice box and I don't see that changin' any time soon just because we have an arrangement," she told him.

Alcide pushed away from the table so quickly and so hard that it nearly tipped over. He stood and began to pace back and forth, growling every few seconds.

"Would you have fucked him too?" he asked after a minute.

"Alcide!" Sookie stood up as well. That was crossing a line.

"What? You know very well that vampires like to fuck their meals."

"So I guess that means I woulda just stripped off my clothes and told him to enjoy the all he can eat Sookie buffet?" she glared at him and propped her hands on her hips. "I think you of all people should know I don't cheat!"

"It's him I don't trust, Sookie!"

"Because he's a vampire, right? That's all the reason you have." It was so stupid.

"That's all the reason I need."

"That's extremely disappointin', Alcide," she said with a shake of her head.

"You're not taking his blood, and he's not taking yours. End of story."

She looked him right in the eye and said, "Well it's not your decision to make."

"Do it and we're through. Don't throw away the last six months for some dead fanger."

"Don't make it an either or situation and I won't!" Sookie argued.

"I'm not taking it back."

With her appetite gone, along with her interest in being around him, Sookie pushed her chair back in toward the table.

"Fine. Enjoy your dinner then," she said, and walked out of the kitchen.

She wasn't interested in anymore pissing contests between the men in her life. She had promised Alcide her loyalty and that wasn't good enough. He said it was about trusting Eric, but she knew that wasn't entirely true. In that moment she felt like Debbie Pelt version 2.0 and that didn't sit right with her one bit.

Sookie grabbed her purse off the table by the entryway and marched out of Alcide's house without looking back. With the sun almost setting she knew she could probably catch Eric if she went to Fangtasia, but that seemed a little too skeevy for her taste, so she got in her car and just drove for a while, trying to figure out her next move.

There were pros and cons to her relationship with Alcide. Yes, he could marry her and give her children. She had grown up hoping that someday she would find a good man to marry and have a family with, but the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if that was what she even wanted anymore. Assuming this Hep-V virus continued to spread, it was just going to make the world and even more dangerous place. Would she really want her children growing up in a world where they would be potential victims everywhere they went?

She wasn't sure if she wanted to be Alcide's wife or the mother of his children, but if he thought he was going to pull some 1950's, I'm-the-man-and-what-I-say-goes bullshit, he had another thing coming. It wasn't _his_ life on the line here. Like Eric, he was a predator, not prey. He didn't know what it was like to have supernatural creatures constantly sniffing around him, trying to figure out what that intoxicating aroma was that was radiating from her pores. That was _her_ lot in life, not his.

If Sookie was truly going to be smart, she needed to consider this problem from all angles. If survival was her goal, then she needed to align herself with the strongest possibility for that outcome. Without realizing it, she had started driving toward Fangtasia. Just as she was pulling into the parking lot she came to a decision. If she wanted to survive this outbreak, she was going to have to pair up with Eric. It was her best chance.

Sookie parked her car and reached into her bag for her cell phone. She took a deep breath, knowing that this phone call was probably going to signal the end of her relationship with Alcide, but it was the right thing to do for everyone concerned. So she dialed his number and was torn between wanting him to pick up and wanting him to ignore her call.

In the end, he picked up.

"I made a decision," Sookie said before he could say anything. "I believe that you would do everything in your power to keep me safe and I appreciate your willingness to stick your neck on the chopping block for me, Alcide, but I need to be smart and realistic about this situation. I trust you but I trust Eric more."

"Really think about this, Sookie," he said, and he sounded a lot calmer than he did before.

"I have," she said. "So now you need to decide if you're really going to let me go because I'm making this deal with Eric."

"I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either, but I also don't want to fight over this constantly," she told him. "So if you don't think you can accept this, then I need for you to tell me now."

He was quiet for a minute and then said, "I don't think I can accept this."

Her eyes watered even though she had expected he would do exactly what he'd just done. Sookie blinked back her tears and took a few deep breaths.

"You're sure about that?" she asked.

"I already went through one girlfriend having a V addiction. I'm not doing it again. And on top of you being some other guy's drinking fountain, something he gets off on, you've been with vampires in the past. It's not just a drug to you."

She wanted to argue but she knew he was right. Sookie had never taken vampire blood just for the hell of it-there was always a purpose for it. Nine times out of ten she was injured and the one time she had taken it when she wasn't, it had been a mutual exchange with Eric in the cubby after Marnie's spell was broken. Something had happened between them that she had never experienced before and wasn't sure that either of them could explain. The connection she had felt to Eric after that… there was nothing like it.

"You're right," she whispered.

"I don't want to be right."

"But you are," she said, and a tear slipped from her eye. "I can't say if that's true about Bill, but with Eric… you're right. It's more than a drug."

"Then don't do it. Come home to me," he said.

Sookie exhaled slowly and in her peripheral vision, she saw Eric's car pulling into the parking lot. She knew he saw her sitting there. She doubted many of his customers drove bright yellow VW Beetles. His handsome face came into view when he swung into the parking space beside hers. Just thinking he was handsome was somewhat of a problem.

"I can't," she said quietly. "Not when I know you can't accept my decision."

Alcide was completely silent on his end.

"I'll drop off my key tomorrow and get my stuff," she said.

"Keep the key," he said somberly.

"I didn't think it was going to go this way," she said as Eric got out of his car with a curious expression on his face.

"I know," he said, and then he hung up.

Sookie sighed and dropped her phone on the passenger's seat to give herself a few minutes to have a good cry over what just happened. This was exactly where she didn't want to end up, and somehow she had been sucked back in.


	5. Crush

Chapter 5: Crush

"_Lovely lady, let me drink you please. I won't spill a drop I promise you. Lying under this spell you cast on me, each moment the more I love you. Crush me. Come on. It's crazy I'm thinking, just knowing that the world is round. Here I'm dancing on the ground. Am I right side up or upside down? Is it real or am I dreaming? Lovely lady, I will treat you sweetly, adore you I mean you crush me. It's times like these when my faith I feel, and I know how I love you." -Dave Matthews Band_

Eric stood outside Sookie's car patiently waiting for her to stop crying. He heard the last couple of lines of her conversation and got the impression that she and the dog had broken up. It made him happy, but he did not enjoy her sadness.

When Sookie got out of the car she sniffled and slammed the door before looking at Eric.

"I'm guessing you figured it out already," she said, and wiped a tear off her cheek.

"I'm sorry if it had anything to do with me," he said.

"It did. I talked to him like I told you I would and he couldn't get past the idea of me takin' your blood and he was really unhappy about the idea of you takin' mine," she said. "I don't want to fight about it all the time so I told him if he couldn't accept it, it was over. You can guess which way he voted."

"I'm sorry you're in pain."

"I'll get past it," she said, straightening her spine. "I always do."

"I know," he said with a small smile. "Would you like to come in?"

Sookie took a deep breath and tilted her head back toward the dark night sky.

"Honestly, I'm not even sure what I'm doin' here. I was drivin' around after I left his house and this is where I ended up," she said without looking Eric's way.

"So you subconsciously wanted to see me."

Sookie lifted her head and looked him.

"I don't know," she shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe being around you just makes me feel… safe."

"The real me this time," he said quietly.

She nodded. "You were always you. I still see that side of you I saw when you didn't have your memories."

"But it took me losing them for you to want me. As soon as I had them back you didn't."

He knew it was a timing thing, and that she had another dose of Bill's blood. But he always wondered why it took him not being his full self for her to be with him.

"When you didn't have your memories you showed me a gentler side of yourself, Eric. All the politics and plottin' and schemin' was gone and I got to see _you_. I got to know the man that was behind the fangs and it changed the way I saw you," she explained. "I could blame Bill's blood for choosin' to walk away from you and it would be a part of it, but it wasn't the whole reason."

"Was the whole reason that I wasn't some innocent love-struck puppy anymore? That I was the person who had tricked you again."

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "When I went to the Moon Goddess Emporium to try and read Marnie's mind, she channeled my Gran. She knew my feelings for you were changin' and she told me it wasn't gonna last. When you got your memories back I didn't think you would still feel the same way about me. I assumed that _you_ would be the one to bail out because I'm just this waitress from Bon Temps and you're… you. I never thought the reason it wouldn't last was because of _me_."

"Even after I told you I loved you."

"I was scared, Eric. My heart was still healin' from what happened with Bill and I was afraid of lettin' go and trustin' myself," she explained.

He nodded and said, "Do me a favor and don't make any more decisions based on Bill."

"I'm tryin' really hard not to."

"It seems you've been doing a good job for the last six months," he said.

"I've done everything I can to stay away from him," she said. "I mean it when I say I don't ever want his fangs in me ever again."

"Good," he said, and leaned down to get close to her ear. He inhaled her scent and then said, "I hope my fangs are the only ones in you from now on."

He could hear her heartbeat speed up and Sookie turned her head just a little so they were eye to eye.

"Are you hungry, Eric?" she asked him.

He nodded with a look of desire in his eyes. Sookie didn't look away from him as she moved her hair away from her neck, offering it to him right there in the parking lot.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on her neck, but whispered, "Not here. It's still illegal."

"I'm out of practice," Sookie said with a small smile.

"I'm afraid I have to put in an appearance here tonight. But I can come to your home in a few hours," he said.

"Okay," she nodded and stepped back from him.

"I'll see you soon, Miss Stackhouse," he smiled as he stepped back so she could get into her car.

Eric watched as Sookie gave him a little wave and backed out of her parking space. He waited until she had driven off before going into the bar. Pam and Tara were behind the bar, trying to teach Willa how to mix drinks. Eric found it highly amusing.

"All my girls, working together," he smiled.

"Who put the fairy in your TruBlood?" Pam asked.

"She ended things with the dog," he grinned.

"Who with what dog?" Willa asked.

"She broke up with Alpo?" Tara looked surprised.

"She wished to be my 'buddy' and it didn't sit well with the dog," he explained. "I'll be leaving early tonight."

"Seriously, what dog?"

"You remember that big guy Sook was with at the social at Bellefleur's?" Tara asked, and Willa nodded. "That's the dog."

"Because he's hairy?" she asked, still looking confused.

"Because he is a werewolf," Eric said. "We'll get to that soon."

"Werewolves are real?" Willa's eyes went wide.

"They're fuckin' real alright and they reek of canine," Tara replied.

"It's like smellin' wet, mangy dog," Pam added.

"And we do not get along with them. Ever," Eric added. "We are superior in every way."

"Well that sounds a little elitist," Willa said.

"It's a fact," Pam said. "The only advantage they have over us is bein' able to walk in the sun."

"Huh," Willa shrugged and then looked at the drink she was learning to mix. "Shoot, how much vodka is in this again?"

"One ounce," Tara replied. "You'll get the hang of it."

"Not if I keep breaking bottles trying to go fast," she sighed.

Eric raised an eyebrow at Pam and said, "Stop letting the baby vampires fuck up our liquor inventory."

"She's gotta learn sometime," Pam said.

"Willa, you're thinking too hard about it," Eric advised. "Learn the measurements first and then do it until you have it down at human speed. Then going fast will be simple."

Willa nodded along and said, "Okay. I won't disappoint you."

"That's my girl," Eric smiled. "I'll be in my office for a while. I don't want to be disturbed."

All three women nodded and went back to Willa's bartending lessons.

Eric went into his office and started writing checks to vendors. He did the math and came to the conclusion that they could only afford to stay open another month before everything went into the red. He and Pam both had a fortune and would be alright monetarily and perhaps if things turned around they could reopen Fangtasia. If not they would have to find something else to fill their time.

After an hour he sat on his throne to entertain the ten fangbangers that came to the bar. Every one of them approached him at one point or another, but he wouldn't be having their blood. Not only was it not safe, but there was the prospect of having Sookie's very shortly. That was enough to keep any vampire from feeding.

Eric could only take forty-five minutes of throne time and listening to his newest daughter break two more bottles of alcohol before he gave up for the night. He sped over to the bar and informed Tara and Willa that he was leaving. They nodded, but on his way out Pam stopped him.

At vampire speed she moved closer to him and in his native tongue she asked, "Are you sure this is wise?"

"Why wouldn't it be? She is uninfected, and I would protect her anyway."

"Her blood will be coveted, especially now that it seems Bill's back in town."

"And if I lay claim to her, he cannot touch her. I am not afraid of a child like Bill."

"_Willa_ shouldn't be afraid of Bill," Pam snickered.

"Exactly. Don't worry, Pamela."

She switched back to English as she said, "Fine, then fuck off." At least she said with amusement in her blood.

Eric chuckled as he left the bar. He got into his car and started the drive to Bon Temps.

When he pulled up to Sookie's house he was pleased to see a light still on, and he could hear her heartbeat. It wasn't in a slow, steady rhythm yet so he knew she was awake. He parked his car next to hers and walked slowly up her steps and rang the doorbell. Since he'd given the house back to her, and since she'd promptly rescinded his invitation, he needed one again.

Sookie came to the door a minute later in a pale blue nightgown that tied in her shoulders and didn't cover much of her skin at all. His fangs throbbed in his jaw but stayed at his will. Another part of him, however, refused to listen to his command to stay put.

"Mr. Northman, will you please come in?" she said, and stepped back to let him inside the house.

"Thank you," he smiled as he stepped over the threshold. "You look delicious this fine night."

"Thanks," she said as she closed the door.

"Tell me, Sookie. What am I in for tonight?" he asked. "A feeding or perhaps something more?"

He didn't expect sex from her, but it was enjoyable to be able to tease her about it again.

"I think a feeding is enough for one night, don't you?" Sookie asked as she padded back to the living room.

"Of your blood? Of course," he said and followed her.

Sookie sat down on the couch and began to pile her hair up on her head, but before she could secure it with a tie on her wrist, Eric stopped her.

"Don't," he said, and sat down next to her.

"Okay," she said, and let her hair fall down around her shoulders. "So how do you want to do this?"

"I'd like for it to not be so technical," he said as his thumb brushed against the spot he was planning to bite on her neck.

He noticed goosebumps rise on her skin and her body tense a little bit.

"So what did you have in mind to keep it… friendly?" Sookie asked.

"Well, there's this," he said, and leaned in to press a kiss to her pulse point. Her heart started to beat faster.

"There certainly is," she agreed.

"And this," he said.

He pulled back to look her in the eyes, then pressed a kiss to her lips. It was small, and short, as he didn't want to pressure her, but she still melted into it for the briefest of seconds.

"They're both good options," she said with her eyes still closed.

"Well then," he said, and using his vampire speed, he pulled her on top of him so she was straddling his lap.

"Just my blood, Eric. That's all that's on the table right now," Sookie reminded him.

"I know. This position is more agreeable though, don't you think?" he asked as he looked her body up and down.

She nodded and again moved her hair away from her neck for him as she leaned forward. Eric breathed in her scent and enjoyed the fact that she'd taken a shower. He could still smell the dog on her in the parking lot. He kissed and licked that spot again, drawing the blood to the surface, and then his fangs ran out. Sookie started to breathe shallowly as his fangs scraped against her skin, and just when she wasn't expecting it, he bit.

Eric groaned when her sweet blood filled his mouth, and pulled her more tightly against his body. He didn't want to take too much, so he fed slowly, savoring what he was taking. She moaned softly, and more than once, letting her fingers move into his hair at the back of his head to hold him to her throat.

"I forgot what this feels like," she whispered as he fed.

He groaned again, and only took one more strong pull from her before he stopped and licked the wounds. He pricked his finger and healed the bites, and then licked his lips as he stared at hers.

"Feel better now?" she asked in a breathy voice.

"Much," he whispered, and then his lips were on hers.

Sookie moaned in surprise but she didn't pull back from the kiss. In a matter of seconds her arms were wrapped around his neck and her soft, warm tongue was licking the seam of his lips. Eric didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss, and his arms tightened around her. He knew she would put a stop to this before they could fuck, but this was more than worth it.

Her fingers found their way back into his hair and her hips rubbed against his a handful of times without Sookie ever pulling away from Eric's kisses. Eric was eventually the one to break the kissing, but only so he could ask her a question.

"Would you like my blood now?"

"Will we end up high as kites like last time?" Sookie asked while trying to catch her breath.

"Not if you only have a few drops," he said. "If you want more than that it means much more."

"I feel like if I take your blood at all it's going to mean something more is happening than the two of us teaming up purely for safety reasons," she said.

"You're probably right about that."

Sookie looked into his eyes and for a few minutes she stayed quiet, lost in her thoughts. Her hands moved to his chest and when she spoke again she said, "Maybe this is the other life, Eric."

"Do you want it to be?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said softly. "But for some reason it seems all my roads lead back to you. I don't know why that is, but it's gotta mean something."

"Then take the road a little further."

He could tell she was nervous, but she lifted his hand and put his finger to his fang so it would draw his blood. When a few drops worth had pooled on his fingertip, she brought his finger to her mouth and with her eyes on his, she sucked on the tiny wound.

Eric's eyes wanted to close from the pleasure he felt, but he forced them to stay open. Sookie Stackhouse was drinking his blood, willingly.

All it took was just a fraction of a teaspoon and once again, the connection between them was alive and well, and he could feel everything she felt coursing through his veins as if they were his own emotions. Sookie kissed his fingertip before she released his hand.

"Please don't make me regret this, Eric," she pleaded in a whisper.

His brow furrowed and he retracted his fangs.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"You don't dream," she said with a smile.

"Exactly," he smiled back, and kissed her once again.

Sookie kissed him back for just a minute or so, and then she pulled back and climbed off of him.

"I think that's enough for tonight," she said.

"May I stay in my cubby hole, as you put it, tonight?"

Sookie considered it a moment and then said, "I suppose that's alright."

"Then that is where I will be," he said as he stood up. "If you change your mind."

She nodded and as she backed up toward the stairs she said, "Goodnight, Eric."

"Goodnight, Sookie."

She smiled and then turned to go upstairs to her bedroom. Eric waited in the living room until he heard her heartbeat slow to a sleeping rhythm, and then he made sure all the doors were locked before retiring to his own light tight room. It was just as he'd left it, down to the pile of books on the stand next to the bed.

There were still a few hours until sunrise, and he spent them reading and listening to the sound of Sookie's heartbeat above him. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would fully have her again, and this time it would mean so much more.

Just before the sun came up, he marked his place in his book and set it aside. He lay down on the bed and made himself comfortable, and closed his eyes as the sun took him under.

**xXx**

_"Now put your weight on your back leg and extend like this," Eric said, showing Sookie the proper way to swing._

_"It's kinda like baseball," she replied while mimicking his movement._

_"America's pass time," he said, taking up a ready position for them to continue on with the lesson._

_The sky was just beginning to lighten so they would have to call it quits soon. Sookie found she was a quick study in swordfighting and it helped that she had a patient and proficient teacher. Eric was taking her through the motions one by one, explaining the importance of the sword in her hand being one with her arm. It was an extension of herself._

_"So you really think I need to know swordfighting?" she asked as they began their dance all over again. To her it was like dancing. It required grace, nimbleness and the ability to predict her partner's moves. So far Eric was taking it easy on her but she looked forward to the challenge when he turned it up a notch._

_"It can't hurt to know, and I want you to be able to rely on your own skills should you ever find yourself in a position where I can't be there to protect you," Eric explained as the dance continued._

_There was clinking of metal on metal as their swords met over and over again. They moved around the spacious backyard, dodging tree roots, stumps and the shrubs while Sookie practiced her technique._

_"I'm not sure this is the most convenient option," she said. _

_The sword she was swinging was heavy and sharp. She had swung it into the bark of a tree already and there was a neat notch there from where Eric had to pull the blade out again. _

_"If it helps, you look sexy with a sword," he said, and thrust toward her._

_Sookie pirouetted out of the way like she was a ballerina._

_"Like a pirate wench," she said, and slapped Eric's ass with the flat side of the blade._

_The corner of his mouth lifted in amusement and the next thing she knew, both swords were planted in the earth and Eric had her flat on her back in the grass. His quickness and proximity didn't scare her, nor did the fangs that had dropped down in the wake of the slap on his ass. _

_"You would have made a fearsome shieldmaiden in my human days," Eric said. "I would have been proud to have you defend my home."_

_"And raise your children too, I suppose," Sookie joked._

_"Mostly I would have enjoyed making them with you. Our bodies fit together perfectly, Sookie." To prove it, Eric ground his hips against her. He fit perfectly in the space between her thighs._

_The sky continued to lighten around them and without thinking twice, Sookie stretched forward to kiss him. Their mouths fit together just as perfectly. His tongue rubbed against hers, tasting and exploring until Sookie needed to breathe. She tugged at the tank top he was wearing and tossed it away so she would have access to all of that perfect, ancient skin. Like he had done with her more times than she could count, Sookie inhaled his scent._

_No aftershave, no fancy lotions, colognes or soap clung to him. It was just Eric. She kissed his chest, pausing over the silent space where his heart rested. It may not beat, but it functioned just fine in her eyes. _

_"A new day is coming," she said softly between his kisses on her neck._

_"We should begin it together," Eric suggested, licking the spot he had bitten before._

_Sookie moaned and her hips rocked up off the ground. She turned her head to offer herself to him, and it was no big surprise to her when he bit into his wrist to allow them to reestablish the connection they shared after Marnie's spell._

_"We will be one," she whispered, and then closed her lips around the bleeding wound._

_Eric growled and his hips thrust forward forcefully, allowing her to feel how turned on he was by her consumption of his blood. He began to kiss her neck and his hips continued to thrust against hers until finally his fangs slid inside her._

_Sookie cried out with her mouth full of blood. Why was it that vampires biting her made Sookie react like she did? Why did _Eric_ have such an intense effect on her? _

_With an unseen move of Eric's free hand, Sookie's shorts were snatched away and his pants were opened, making them that much closer to truly being one. It felt like they were completing a circuit and just as the sun was coming up above the horizon, Eric slid inside her silky, wet heat. Again Sookie cried out and her legs hitched up around his waist while he began to thrust into her slow and deep. _

_Eric lifted his head and Sookie looked up at his handsome face as the sky got brighter and brighter around them._

_"Why do I have no willpower around vampires?" she asked him. _

_"Maybe it's just me," he said in his cheeky, arrogant way that Sookie both hated and adored at the same time._

_Her feelings for Eric had confused her for so long but now she knew. It was love, with or without his blood in her system. If she belonged to a vampire, this was the one._

_His lips descended onto hers and Sookie wrapped her arms around his neck. Like the night Bill had set him free, the first time they made love, just once wasn't enough. For the first time in more than a thousand years, he felt the warmth of the sun on his back while he fucked a beautiful woman, and when Sookie's blood lost its ability to protect him he bit again, taking only a little at a time until finally he could take no more without hurting her._

_She lost track of the pleasure she felt, and Sookie was too busy kissing Eric to notice him moving their sweaty, tangled bodies into the cubby he had arrogantly built for himself. They collapsed onto the bed and when Sookie opened her eyes, Eric was dead for the day._

With a start, Sookie sat bolt upright in her bed. Her heart was pounding and she was breathing hard, like she'd just finished a ten mile run at top speed. She got out of bed to get a glass of water and didn't need to turn on the lights like usual. She did anyway to find that her hair was shinier, her complexion was completely clear and the little cut on her left index finger was healed.

She could smell Alcide's aftershave lingering on her sheets when she got back into bed. Sookie felt this sinking disappointment in herself. What the hell was wrong with her that the first chance she got, she was right back on vampire blood?

Yes, it was different with Eric, but the fact still remained that her body was no longer her own. Her dream just now reflected it. It was still dark outside so Eric was awake and no doubt he knew what kind of dream she just had. It was easy to imagine him sitting in the cubby with a smug look of satisfaction on his stupid, handsome face.

Well she wasn't going to go down there. No sir, Sookie was going to stay right where she was, even if it meant not going back to sleep. It was frustrating as all hell but Sookie stayed put until sunrise and only then did she give up to start her day.


	6. Anchor

Chapter 6: Anchor

"_And if you can't feel it's selfish to use up all of the bandages. I can read your eyes: if this is real then it'll end. I shouldn't be so surprised. This happens over and over again. Does your heart get fiercer when you think someday I might go? Forget all the promises; you're tired and you're drifting and you're low, and if you can't steer then it would be safer to drop the anchor." -Trespassers William_

"Good afternoon', Mr. Mayor," Barbara said as Sam walked into the office.

"Good afternoon', Barb. How's that grandson of yours?" Sam asked in a friendly way.

"Cute as a bug and growin' like a weed," Barb replied, turning a picture frame around to show Sam the most recent picture of her grandson.

"He's a good lookin' boy," Sam said.

"Just like his daddy," she said.

"Sam, quick, turn on the news!" Another staffer came running into the office and Barb reached for the remote to turn on the flat screen mounted on the office wall.

The channel flipped over to CNN to show the inside of a public library in western Texas that had blood spatter _everywhere_.

"Now Brooke, what I've been told is that there was a children's story hour going on when the attack happened. Witness accounts tell officials that it was three vampires working together. So far twenty-seven children and thirty-five adults have been taken to area hospitals. There are eight confirmed fatalities and all of them are children," the field reporter said in a properly mournful tone.

"Goddamnit!" Sam yelled, and slammed his fist down on the nearest desk.

This was precisely what he wanted to avoid in his own town.

"Jeffrey, get me a copy of the list for the Unity Project," Sam ordered. "Barb, I need you to activate the phone tree and call an emergency meeting for seven o'clock _tonight_."

"Yes, Mr. Mayor," both staffers said, and got busy.

Sam continued to his office and turned on his TV and laptop to email Bill. Since the dissolution of the Authority, the vampires had yet to reform their own government. It was anarchy for their kind. Many of the older vampires had left America to return to their countries of origin where it was safer. That meant a great many of the vampires left in America were young and didn't know the way it was before the Great Revelation happened, and if they did, they didn't care. Not that it mattered now since there was this new breed of bloodsucker on the loose.

Sam typed out a quick message to Bill, letting him know about the emergency meeting that was being scheduled for that night so he could get word passed along to the other vampires on their list of uninfected vamps. Once that was done, Sam sat back in his seat and turned his chair toward the window. He spotted Sookie's bright yellow Beetle cruise by and without thinking twice, he sprang up from his seat and hurried out the back door of the office to go after her.

She pulled into the bank parking lot and rather than following her inside and making a scene, Sam waited for her beside her car. Alcide was a better option than nothing at all, but even he wouldn't be able to fight off a pack of feral vampires on his own. Sookie needed another vampire to have her back and even though she and Bill had their problems in the past, he was the closest vampire to her. It just made sense for them to work together on this project.

Sookie stopped short when she walked out of the bank, surprised to see him standing against the side of her car. She was dressed in her work uniform so either she was just coming off the lunch shift or she was working until close. During the week Arlene had changed the hours so the bar closed at eleven Monday through Thursday.

"Hey, Sook, I'm glad I caught ya," Sam said as she approached him.

He sniffed the air when he caught the scent of vampire and realized that it was coming from Sookie. She'd had vampire blood. It was as obvious in her smell as it was in the subtle changes of her appearance. It was like she'd been to one of those day spas they had in big cities, but he knew she hadn't been. Only vampire blood would be able to give her that kind of glow. He'd seen it on her many times before.

"You had vampire blood," he said before Sookie could even say hello.

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I did," she said with an air of stubbornness.

Sam sighed with relief.

"Oh good. So you and Bill talked then?" he assumed. That was a load off his mind.

"Bill? No. I buddied up with Eric."

Sam's eyes went wide. "_Northman_? Eric Northman?"

"Yes," she said in a tone that dared him to argue with her about it.

"I thought you and Eric were through?" Sam looked at her curiously.

"We're not back together," she said with a nervous laugh. "We're just looking out for each other. He's the only vampire I trust."

"_Northman_?" Sam asked, again in disbelief.

"Yes, Sam. I'm not sure you can pronounce his name any other way."

"I'm just… I didn't think you'd pick him after everything that's happened. You always end up back with Bill," he said.

"You don't really know the first thing about my relationship with Eric _or_ with Bill for that matter," she said.

"I know he's always tried to look out for you," Sam said, running his hand through his hair.

"Bill?"

"Yes, Bill," Sam said like she should know better.

"Was he looking out for me by giving me his blood every chance he got so I would be inclined to trust him? Was he looking out for me when he _let_ me get beat near to death only so he would have an opportunity to get his blood in me? I don't think so, Sam."

Sam stood there stunned, not really sure what to say.

Yet the words, "Bill would never do that," came out of his mouth.

Sookie's brow furrowed and she said, "When have I ever lied to you, Sam? Bill confessed that to me."

It didn't make any sense to him.

"He just wants what's best for you, Sookie," Sam said.

Sookie knew that this couldn't be Sam talking to her. She'd dipped into his mind once before, but maybe she didn't go deep enough. Without asking his permission, she put her hands on either side of his face and delved into his mind. Inside a shifter's brain was always a little stormier than the average human brain, and she couldn't make her way through the fog enough to find a hole in his memory.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked suspiciously. "Are you in my head right now?"

Sookie let go of him and took a step back before someone saw and got suspicious that there was more going on between them. That was the last thing she needed.

"I think you were glamoured," she admitted. "But I can't tell because you have a shifter brain."

"What? No," Sam said quickly. "I wasn't glamoured, Sookie. I'm just tryin' to help out two of my friends."

"Since when has Bill ever been your friend, Sam?"

"Sook, I know he's made some mistakes but he's trying to do the right thing here. He just wants all of us to get through this in one piece," Sam said.

Sookie shook her head and said, "That's great Sam, but I'm paired with Eric."

"Alright," he sighed. "I'll note it in our spreadsheet."

"Great. Thanks," she said, and moved past him to unlock her car and get in.

"There's gonna be a meeting tonight. There was another situation in Lubbock, Texas last night," he told her. "Eight kids are dead and there are almost sixty people in the hospital, Sook. This is serious."

Sookie paused and turned to look at him.

"Children?" she asked.

He nodded and continued, "It happened during a children's story hour at a public library."

Sookie's eyes welled with tears as she thought of the terror those children must have felt.

"This is bad," she said.

"Very bad. Now do you understand why I wanted you to find a partner? You need the protection, Sookie. I'm sure Alcide's a strong wolf but he's no match for what these infected vampires are capable of doing," Sam said gently.

"And I have protection now, with Eric," she said as she wiped her eyes. "He's older and stronger than Bill, too."

"As long as you have someone," Sam said. "Sookie, I know with your job it's hard not to, but try not to go out alone at night, okay?"

"I'll do my best to keep myself safe, Sam."

"Good," he said, and stepped back to let her get in her car.

"I'll see you tonight, Sam."

"Will you be at the meeting?"

"Yeah, I'll go. I'll see if Eric can join me."

"Good," he nodded. "Then I'll see you tonight. If you can't get Eric to go with you, please consider going with Bill."

"I'll take my chances, thanks."

Sam sighed, knowing that once Sookie dug her heels in on something it was pointless to argue with her.

"Alright. Be safe, Sookie," he said, and closed her car door for her.

He stood back and watched her drive off to wherever he was going and then headed back to his office to prepare for the night's meeting.

Eric rose for the evening in the cubby he'd had built while Sookie was missing. He inhaled deeply and caught her scent, but both his blood and his senses told him she wasn't home. Eric let himself out of the cubby and headed up to the bathroom to take a quick shower while she was gone. He paused at her bedroom and smelled traces of the stinking dog.

He ignored the stink and headed for the shower where Sookie's scent lingered. Eric got the water going and it warmed quickly, much quicker than it had before he'd gutted the house. The integrity of the structure had been kept intact, but new drywall had been hung after the electricity and plumbing had been updated. The pipes in the house were so old they were the galvanized kind and those had gone out of fashion long, long ago.

The Maenad had done quite a number on Sookie's house and Eric shook his head at the notion that Bill had offered Sookie no help in repairing her home after it was essentially destroyed. While Eric was sure his fortune was significantly larger than Bill's, the vampire certainly wasn't destitute. He could have contributed to the rebuilding of Sookie's home, particularly since it meant so much to her. It was true though that Sookie was a proud woman who wouldn't have accepted charity and had Eric not taken possession of the house while she was gone there's no way she would have permitted him to make any of the repairs he had.

The tradeoff for the repairs was the addition of the cubby under the house. His confidence that he could sway Sookie his way had paid off, and now that cubby was a blessing. It would permit him to spend as many days resting near her as he wished.

But it wasn't a good idea to go getting ahead of himself. This was still just somewhat of a business arrangement and he knew better than to run around laying claim to Sookie without her having agreed to it privately beforehand. Unless Bill was around, he gathered. But they would need to discuss it whenever she came home.

While Eric was rinsing shampoo from his hair the sound of Sookie's heartbeat registered in his ears. He debated over what to do and decided to hurry up and finish in the shower, and then surprise her in nothing but a towel loosely strewn about his hips. It would be terrible if that towel happened to fall.

Absolutely terrible.

And completely accidental.

So as soon as Eric was finished cleaning up he turned off the water, stepped from the shower and grabbed a fresh towel from the cabinet in the corner. Just as he was walking out of the bathroom, still a little wet and definitely naked beneath that fluffy pink towel, Sookie was coming up the stairs in her work uniform. Her hair was pulled back and she was wearing a pair of tight black shorts and a mint green Bellefleur's t-shirt.

"Good evening, Sookie," he said.

She stopped short, obviously not paying attention to the fact that he was standing there watching her. She was distracted and he sensed the conflict in her blood. It only heightened when her eyes landed on him. There was that spike of lust he had hoped for, but Sookie was a master as shoving away her emotions.

They had that in common.

She quickly averted her eyes and said, "You're up."

"I am," he smirked.

"And you're all showered. Good. There was another attack in Texas last night," Sookie said, shifting her eyes back to him but keeping them locked on his face. "Eight kids were slaughtered in a public library during story hour."

Eric's smirk turned into a frown when she told him children were slaughtered. Though he was a thousand years old, Eric enjoyed children. Their honesty and zest for life was refreshing in a world of adult humans so concerned with things that often didn't matter.

"They're getting closer," he said.

"They could be here before sunrise," Sookie said. "There's a town meeting tonight."

"I'm going with you," he said as though there was no room for argument.

"Then that saves me from trying to convince you to come along," she said with a cheeky smile. "You're probably going to want to put some clothes on first."

"Are you sure?" he asked, and at that moment he brought his hand up to scratch an itch on his neck that he didn't—and couldn't—have. His towel _accidentally_ fell to the floor. "Whoops."

There was another spike of lust coming from Sookie that ran through him, but she quickly turned and headed for her bedroom.

"Positive!" she called out and closed the door.

He chuckled and picked up the towel so he could put it in the hamper, then got dressed at vampire speed so he could wait for her to come out. When she did, she was carrying her bed sheets all bundled up.

"That was quick," she said as she headed for the stairs.

"You didn't seem to want to see me naked, so I covered up."

"It's not a matter of want so much as it's a bad idea," Sookie said as she started down the steps.

"It seems like a very pleasurable idea to me."

"This is just business, Eric," Sookie said, but her blood said otherwise and he could tell it was confusing the hell out of her.

"Whatever you say," he said. "It's not as though the towel fell on purpose."

"I might have been born at night but it wasn't last night," she said, heading for the back of the house.

Eric merely chuckled as he followed her. Rather than throwing the sheets in the wash like he expected she would, Sookie continued out the back door, through the mud porch and over to the trash cans where she stuffed the bundle of sheets inside.

"Do Weres leave a permanent stink that I'm not aware of?" he asked.

"It's just time for a change," Sookie said with a shrug. That was a lie. Sort of.

"Out with the old, in with the new," he said.

"Something like that." Sookie passed by him and went back into the house.

Eric looked around the yard and took a breath to make sure they were alone. When he was satisfied that there wasn't any danger he went back into the house again. Sookie was opening a package containing new sheets for her bed—white with a pink and red pattern on them.

"So are you plannin' on stayin' here a lot now?" Sookie asked casually.

"For now I believe it would be best if I did, as long as you'll allow it."

"What about Pam, Tara and Willa?" she asked him.

"They will be alright, though I may have to spend the nights you don't work in Shreveport with Willa. As long as you promise me you will stay inside. Or you may join us. She is still very young and in need of guidance. I did her a disservice by being away for so long."

"She was disappointed you left," Sookie confirmed. "I don't know her real well but Tara was all she really had when Pam left too, so I got to know her a little. I think she's got a crush on you. I like her. She seems like a real nice girl."

"She is exceptionally _sweet_," he said. "I couldn't have picked a child any more different from Pam."

"While Pam was high on Warlow's blood she hugged me."

"That is very unlike her."

"Well she was high," Sookie laughed. "Hell, Tara even said she forgave Bill for all the shit he did to her."

"Interesting," he said. "I did not experience that kind of high."

"I think you were probably in a pretty dark place mentally. Who knows," Sookie said. "I don't understand half of the crazy ass shit I saw that day. There were vampires doin' the Charleston on Bill's front porch and fuckin' on the lawn. It was weird. Like Woodstock for vamps or something."

"I'm happy to hear I missed out on that."

Sookie laughed and said, "Oh I don't know, I think it would have been fun to see you cuttin' a rug with Pam."

"I don't dance."

"Because you can't or because you don't wanna look silly doin' it?" she asked, and took the new sheets to the washer.

"I can do every dance, and I can do them well," he smirked. "I do not because I have no reason to."

Sookie grinned and asked, "Will you teach me?"

"Would that make you happy?"

"It could be a fun way to pass the time," she said.

"Then I will teach you."

"Should I invite Pam?" Sookie asked with a snicker and dumped detergent into the washing machine.

"She wouldn't find it fun," he smiled.

"Bummer." Sookie closed the machine and got it started. "We have to be at the meeting at seven. They're havin' it at the church."

"It's a shame there isn't enough time for your first dance lesson."

"I doubt the meeting will take very long," she said as she went back inside. "I'm gonna run upstairs and change clothes."

"Alright," he said, and when she left he pulled out his phone and texted Pam to ask if she knew of the situation in Texas.

**Pam:** What situation in Texas?

**Eric: **Eight children killed by rogues. They're getting closer.

**Pam:** Fuckin' wonderful. Are you coming back tonight or are you still fangs deep in fairy snatch?

**Eric: **There is a meeting here that I am accompanying Sookie to. I may come home for the day. It depends on Sookie's schedule.

**Pam:** What color is your new leash so I can spruce up your wardrobe?

**Eric: **Lovely as ever, Pamela.

**Pam:** Give Sookie a kiss for me. With tongue.

**Eric: **Do it yourself.

**Pam:** Consider it done.

Eric put his phone away just as Sookie came back into the room.

"My progeny will try to kiss you," he said. "You have fair warning."

"I like tall and blonde but not with bigger tits than me," Sookie said.

"I agree with you there."

Sookie quirked an eyebrow at that.

"Not a boob man?" she asked while getting a glass down from the cupboard.

"I think you know_ very_ well that I appreciate breasts."

"You just said you don't like tits bigger than yours," Sookie shrugged and poured herself a glass of lemonade.

"I was agreeing that _you_ shouldn't."

"I see." Sookie sipped her lemonade and leaned against the counter.

"Will Billy boy be at this meeting?"

"Probably. Sam told me to go with Bill if you were unavailable to be my escort."

"And why would the shifter work with Bill?"

"He says it's because he's got a baby on the way and he wants a safer world for his kid," Sookie explained. "But the way he was pushin' Bill on me earlier I'm thinkin' maybe he was glamoured."

"Would you like me to find out for you?"

"You can do that?"

"If he has been glamoured, I will be able to tell."

"Then yes, it would be great if you could tell. I tried lookin' myself but I think him bein' a shifter interfered with it," she explained, and finished off the last of her lemonade before rinsing out her glass.

"If there's any way you can get the three of us alone that would be beneficial."

"I can try," she nodded.

Eric nodded.

"We should probably get going," she said.

"I'll drive."

"That's fine with me," she said.

"Alright then, after you."

Sookie turned and headed out the back door of the house. Eric followed her and when they got to his car he held the door open for her. She got in and he sped around to the driver's side and started the engine.

"Where is the church?" he asked.

"It's about a half mile further down the road than Bellefleur's," she told him.

He nodded and pulled out of her driveway.

Bill walked into the church with Jessica and James. There was already a decent crowd gathered of both humans and vampires alike. He scanned the crowd and held back the growl that wanted out when he noticed Sookie was there, but not alone. She was with Northman again.

He knew Eric was back in town after spotting him at the social, but they hadn't spoken to one another. By the time Bill had arrived, Sookie was already leaving but she had left with Herveaux so he wasn't sure what she was doing with Eric. Maybe it was just a coincidence that they were together. Maybe Alcide was running late. He had been attending all of the other town functions with her so he expected this to be no different.

Jessica and James split off and drifted over to the side where Tara and Willa were standing together. Bill made his way to the front of the room, pausing to shake hands and say hello to the citizens of Bon Temps. When he looked Sookie's way again, he noticed that her arm was looped through Eric's. Something had shifted since the social; he could feel it.

Finally he made his way over to Sookie and Eric, who were standing together off to the side. They weren't speaking to each other or to anyone else for that matter, just standing and taking it all in. As Bill approached he zeroed in on Sookie's scent; that sweet, heavenly smell trapped in her skin only to find it muddied by the smell of Northman's blood. Internally, Bill cringed. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Sookie, Eric," Bill said when he reached them.

"Bill," Sookie nodded, but didn't appear interested in making conversation with him.

Eric nodded too, but said nothing to him.

"Did you two arrive together?" Bill asked. "I don't see Alcide anywhere?"

"He couldn't make it so Eric was kind enough to agree to be my escort," Sookie answered.

"On the condition you take his blood?" Bill stared at Eric with accusing eyes.

"No, I did that on my own," Sookie replied.

"And I had hers," Eric said. "Delicious as ever."

Bill dropped fang that time, but he quickly retracted them.

"Eric and I have decided to pair off, Bill. You'll have to find another human to partner up with," Sookie informed him.

"What happened to Herveaux being all the protection you need?" Bill retorted.

"Women are allowed to change their minds, Billy," Eric said. "Or perhaps she simply didn't want _you._"

Bill growled in Eric's direction.

"I told you, Bill. You and me are through. It's way past time you accepted it and moved on," Sookie told him.

Willa and Tara joined them, Willa standing beside her maker and Tara flanking Sookie's other side.

"There a problem here?" Tara asked in that hard ass way of hers.

"Bill, you know my daughter and granddaughter, yes?" Eric asked.

"We've met," Bill said tensely.

Sam and Nicole walked into the church which was his cue to move on to the front of the room.

"He always looks like he just smelled a fart," Tara said after Bill walked away.

"Or cut one," Willa added.

"I'm surprised you two are here," Sookie said.

"We figured we might as well. Lettie Mae offered to be my buddy," Tara said.

"Get the fuck out," Sookie replied and more than one old lady looked at her with disapproval for it. "Sorry," she apologized.

"Willa, have you found a suitable human yet?" Eric asked his daughter.

"I'm still sifting through my options," she replied.

"Choose well," he told her.

"In the meantime if you need any help you can come see me," Sookie offered. Willa was a young vampire and since Eric would be there to supervise the feedings, Sookie wasn't worried about being drained by this particular baby vampire.

Jason and Violet drifted over in their direction and shortly after Sookie and Jason exchanged hugs his girlfriend didn't hesitate to lay another kiss on Sookie. It had become somewhat of a habit on Violet's end and it was easier to just go with the flow than it was to have yet another talk with her about why this was unacceptable… and really inappropriate on a lot of levels.

"Is this something that happens often?" Eric asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Only every time she sees me," Sookie answered.

"She has good kissing lips," Violet reasoned, and looked at Eric. "Who are you?"

"Eric Northman, former sheriff of area five," he said. "Sookie is mine."

Sookie cleared her throat beside him, but didn't really correct him either. They needed to talk about that when they got home. The Charleston would have to wait.

"Is that right?" Violet leaned on Jason. "You didn't tell me your sister was seeing a vampire."

"I didn't know she was," he said. "Sook?"

"I'm not. Eric and I are just partnering up for this project until there's a cure for Hep-V," Sookie explained.

"But you smell like him. You had his blood," Violet pointed out.

"What the fuck?" Tara spoke up and didn't apologize for her outburst.

"We'll talk about it later," Sookie told her.

"You bet your lily white ass we will," Tara said, folding her arms over her chest.

"If I could, I'd like to have everyone's attention please," Sam said from the pulpit.

"Sook, we're gonna go grab a seat," Jason said, and then led Violet away.

Tara and Willa stayed right where they were and the crowd found seats and quieted down.

"By now I'm sure y'all have heard about the tragedy in Lubbock," Sam started. "It's terrible what happened there and we want to prevent something like that from happenin' here. So, for the time bein' I have decided to institute a town curfew."

"Oh what the fresh hell?" Sookie muttered in irritation. "I can't afford to lose night time tips. This isn't gonna work for me."

"Don't worry about the money," Eric whispered.

"Easy for you to say," Sookie whispered back. "I have a hefty new car payment to make and I'm spoiled rotten by that tankless water heater you installed. Those things won't pay for themselves."

"Until further notice businesses will close before sundown and not open until sunrise within Bon Temps city limits," Sam said. "Except of course for the sheriff's department. Andy Bellefleur assures me that he and his department have stockpiled the necessary weapons to deal with this risin' threat to our town and way of life."

Sookie looked at Eric and asked, "Do you think this is gonna work?"

"As long as humans stay in their homes, they should be safe for now. But it won't solve the problem."

"And if the homes are destroyed, forcing them outside?" Sookie sighed. "It's just a bandaid solution."

"We strongly urge each and every one of you here to find a vampire to reach out to if you haven't yet done so," Sam said. "Tryin' to fight these ill vampires on your own isn't a good idea. They're ruthless killers with zero empathy or sense of right or wrong."

Sookie sighed and closed her eyes. She leaned against the wall and listened to Sam talk until she got the feeling she was being watched. When she opened her eyes, she found Bill was staring at her. It made her uncomfortable, to say the least, and she found she couldn't wait to get out of the church.

"How long do these things usually last?" Eric asked her.

"Depends on how much Sam has to say, I guess," Sookie whispered.

Sam continued to talk for another ten minutes before finally asking all of the unmatched vampires and humans to see one of his staffers on the way out so a pair could be made. Lafayette made his way over to them and hugged Sookie hello.

"I don't suppose you's available, gorgeous?" Lafayette asked Eric.

"Sorry, sweetheart, I'm taken," Eric replied with a glance Sookie's way. "But my progeny is available."

"I ain't interested in Cruella DeVille," Lafayette said.

"Back off, bitch," Tara said in defense of her maker.

"Hookah, please." Lafayette put his hand in Tara's face. "You was supposed to be my partner and you bailed for that steamin' hot mess you call mama."

"It's fuckin' complicated," Tara snapped. "But Willa here could use a regular dose of your sass and fashion tips."

"What's wrong with the way I dress?" Willa asked.

"Nuthin, honeychile," Lafayette said. "Tara's just a grumpy bitch. You lookin' for a human?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Well as long as daddy don't mind my tokin' it up now and then, I think we'll get along fine," Lafayette said.

Willa looked to Eric and he nodded.

"I'd be honored. I've never had pot before," Willa said.

"Good fuckin' thing we can't overdose then," Tara said under her breath.

"Hookah, you needs to get you some pronto," Lafayette said to Tara before reaching for Willa's hand. "Come with me, Snow White. Lala gon' get you all fixed up and high as a kite in no time."

Sookie and Eric watched Willa walk off with Lafayette and Tara excused herself to see her mother.

"Shall we go?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, I think we're done here," Sookie said, and followed Eric out of the church.

* * *

**So I just want to take a quick second here to address something that I feel is a key issue. A lot of readers seem to understand why Sookie is hesitant over taking Eric's blood but there are definitely others that don't get it. The only way I can think to describe it is that Sookie feels like she's a recovering addict. She's made this promise to herself to stay off of vampire blood and she broke that promise. She's disappointed in herself but that doesn't mean she regrets what she did. Sookie took Eric's blood with full knowledge and understanding of what would happen when she did it, and she did it anyway. It would be nice if she could have her cake and eat it too (none of those pesky, influencing side effects) but that's just not the way the cookie crumbles. **

**She's being stubborn but not stupid, dense or a bitch like some of the reviews suggested. She's coming out of an abusive relationship with Bill and she needs to find her center WITHOUT a man. Sookie is aware of Eric's love for her and she still loves him, but she's simply not ready to dive into a relationship with him yet. There are a few things she needs to work out in her own head before she can do that. **

**Scribe will probably yell at me later for saying this, but it never ceases to amaze me how much hate Sookie gets in reviews sometimes. No matter how justified she is in her feelings or actions, there are always going to be those that shit all over her. Personally, I want a Sookie that will choose Eric with her whole mind and heart, and not just go swooning into his arms because she knows he's good in bed. **

**So as I told a few people in my review responses yesterday, just be patient. The time will come when Sookie will come to a decision about her relationship with Eric. I know because it's been written. Cut the girl some slack because she definitely deserves it.**

***end preachy author's note***


	7. Wicked Game

Chapter 7: Wicked Game

"_I want to fall in love. This world is only gonna break your heart. No, I want to fall in love. This world is only gonna break your heart. With you. The world was on fire and no one could save me but you. It's strange what desire will make foolish people do. I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you. And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you." -Chris Isaak_

"What's with Bill?" James asked when Bill left the church abruptly.

"He still loves Sookie and she paired up with Eric," Jessica explained. "Bill and Sookie have a complicated relationship."

"If she's taking another vampire's blood, I'd say that's an understatement, Jessi," James said, and put an arm around her. "Isn't Eric the one that sprung us from the camp?"

"Sorta. Eric's alright and all. He's a good vampire, I know that, but I can't help wantin' Bill to be happy and Sookie makes him happy. Not much else does."

Jessica worried about Bill. She knew he hadn't been given a choice about being a vampire and he hadn't adapted to it as easily as she did. At first the idea of being turned had been terrifying to Jessica. She was afraid it would damn her to hell if she ever met the truth death, plus she was afraid of leaving her mother and sister alone with her physically and mentally abusive father.

Bill was no saint, but at least he was _trying_ to make things right. Jessica was sure that the future for Bill included Sookie. They had been through too much together to give up now.

"Come on, let's go have a snack," James said.

"Yeah, I am a bit hungry," Jessica conceded.

James kissed her cheek and the two of them left the church together on foot. Bill still had a donor pool he kept on-call that Jessica was free to pull from at any given time. The only donor she was supposed to stay away from was a petite blonde by the name of Astrid. The girl was startlingly similar to Sookie, not just in her appearance, but in her mannerisms and the way she spoke. Astrid wasn't Bill's human, but Jessica treated her like she was and respected Bill's request.

When they arrived back at the house Jessica went to talk to Bill while James went down to the dormitory area where the donors stayed. Bill had moved them into the house once it became obvious the Hep-V outbreak was going to take some time to cure. James entered the dorm and pointed to Astrid.

"Bill needs you," James said.

Astrid rose from the sofa and walked toward James. The two of them left the dorm and as soon as they were out of earshot of the humans, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe. He moved in front of Astrid and caught her eyes to glamour her.

"From now on you will come to me for your blood test results and you won't tell anyone where you got them," he said as he pushed the needle into her arm and plunged the infected TruBlood into her, officially making Astrid a carrier. "The only vampire you will feed is Bill Compton and you will not remember the shot I just gave you or this conversation after you go back to the dorm."

"Okay," she said with a smile.

James healed the tiny puncture wound and then let her go back to the dorm to wait for Bill to summon her. He hurried upstairs and took a seat in the living room to wait for Jessica.

**xXx**

The dryer buzzed, signaling that the sheets were finally dry. Sookie set aside her book and went to the mud porch to get them out. She had the next day off and planned to spend it tidying up the house. She was also going to have to come up with some sort of plan to subsidize her income thanks to this stupid fucking curfew that had been imposed. She wasn't the only person in town that was going to be affected by this and it pissed her off that Sam thought he had the right to tell everyone in town where to be after dark.

She was a grown woman, capable of making her own choices. She didn't need Sam's permission to do anything. As Sookie made her bed, her irritation grew. Rationally, she knew that the decision had been made out of fear and in the spirit of protecting everyone in town. What would happen if folks were caught outside their homes after dark? Would they get charged with violating curfew? That was ridiculous.

There weren't many expenses Sookie could cut back on to operate on a smaller budget. She was about as frugal as she could get and was careful not to waste things already. The only solution she could come up with was finding another part-time job, but jobs around Bon Temps were scarce and Sookie wasn't trained for anything other than waiting tables. Any chance she had in the past of making money as a telepath were gone, although she wasn't sure she would want to go that route. It would just further embed her in vampire politics and she had seen enough of that already.

Leaving Bon Temps wasn't an option for her. She couldn't bear to part with her Gran's home so she was going to have to figure something out.

"What's bothering you?" Eric asked from her bedroom door while Sookie put pillowcases on her pillows.

"Oh the usual… money, mostly, and my lack of it," she admitted.

"Don't worry about money," Eric reiterated.

"Eric, I'm not takin' your money," Sookie told him firmly. "I appreciate your offer to help me out, but I can manage. I'll figure something out."

"I could pay you for your blood," he offered, and Sookie glared at him.

"No," she said firmly. "I would never charge you for that, especially when I'm already gettin' something in return for it. I'll just find a second job."

In the blink of an eye Eric was standing in front of her and he'd tossed her pillows away for the moment.

"Let me help you," he insisted. "With these rogue vampires migrating this way it's only a matter of time before they reach Bon Temps and it won't be safe for you to go out at night."

"Then I'll have to take my chances," she said. "Look, I don't expect you to understand this, but I _need_ to do it on my own, Eric. It's not about bein' too proud to accept help when I need it. It's about gettin' back on my own two feet and not relyin' on a man to rescue me all the time. I need to start rescuin' myself again."

It was damn frustrating to be stuck in this cycle she couldn't ever seem to get out of. Meet a vampire, give him her blood, take a little of his and _poof!_ she was back to being needy and trapped. Was it the fairy in her that was attracted to the danger that came with being around vampires? Or was it possible that she was no better than a fangbanger with a death wish? Either way, Sookie wasn't happy about it and she didn't know what else to do to get herself out of the hole she was in.

"I could offer you a job at Fangtasia but I'm afraid we won't be in business for much longer," Eric said.

"It's that bad?" Sookie softened a little, remembering she wasn't the only one with problems as a result of this crap.

Eric nodded. "Business has been on the decline since the Sanguinistas took over the Authority."

"Shit," Sookie muttered and plopped down on her bed. "You know if the TruBlood factories hadn't been bombed none of this would have happened."

"Yet one more thing we have to thank Bill for," Eric agreed.

Sookie looked up at him and said, "I'm sorry your business is going under."

"It made me richer while it could but I'm not going to put too much into keeping it afloat. There will be new opportunities to pursue," he said casually.

"Must be nice to not have to worry about it," Sookie sighed and lay back on her half made bed.

Eric sat beside her on the edge and for a little while neither of them spoke.

"Why did you tell Violet I was yours?" Sookie asked, breaking the silence.

"Because as arousing as it was to watch her kiss you, I don't want her thinking she has a monopoly on the Stackhouse bloodline," Eric explained.

Sookie sat up again and looked toward Eric.

"Do you want me to be yours?" she asked him, though she was sure she knew the answer to that.

"I've always wanted you to be mine," he answered.

There was that innocent desperation in his eyes that she had seen when Eric told her that he loved her after Marnie's spell was broken. That look had always scared her. Her heartbeat sped up because that look implied that he needed an answer and had already selected a preferred one in his mind. Eric's emotions were all conveyed through his eyes. Maybe he liked to think he didn't have feelings, or that he wasn't going to waste them on a human but Sookie had always been the exception.

Around her, his walls seemed to come tumbling down. She had seen it the first time in Dallas when Eric had found her in the basement of the Fellowship. She had watched a strong, powerful vampire fall to his knees to pay his maker the respect he deserved. Then again she had seen it on the rooftop two nights later when Godric had chosen to take his own life. She had seen Eric beg, plead, weep and fight for Godric's survival and it had broken her heart to see him so despondent and devastated by the loss that was closing in on him.

"You remember the night you killed that werewolf in my livin' room?" Sookie asked.

The corner of Eric's mouth lifted.

"I remember," he said. "You were engaged to Bill then."

Sookie snickered. "No, I wasn't. I was just wearin' the ring. I never got the chance to say yes or no to the proposal. I came outta the bathroom and he was gone."

"What would you have said?" Eric asked her.

She sighed and said, "I probably woulda said yes, as much as I hate to admit it. I knew it was fast and I knew there was a lot we didn't know about each other but there was this part of me that was so afraid of bein' alone. He was offerin' me a chance at something I never thought I'd get because of bein' a telepath. The silence I get from vampires… I think that's a big part of what attracts me to y'all. You don't know how nice it is to not hear what someone's thinkin' all the time. With Bill, I didn't have to worry about it. I could open my mind up all the way and just be myself, and at the time, I thought that he loved me. He called me his miracle. I probably shoulda known then. Now I think about how lucky I am that I never got the chance to say yes because I would have regretted it."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You made a mistake. Life goes on," Eric told her. "At least you were smart enough to upgrade in your next vampire dalliance."

"Yeah to a vampire with amnesia," Sookie laughed. "I'm real good at pickin' winners."

"Hey!" Eric nudged her with his elbow. "I tried to convince you to be mine before the spell. Several times."

"I remember," she said. "It might have worked, too, if you weren't so demanding about it. I know vampires are possessive but your people skills are real iffy sometimes."

He smirked and said, "It was because I saw you naked. All of my blood rushed south, leaving my brain unoccupied."

"Eric!" Sookie swatted at him.

"It's the truth," he said unapologetically. "After months of dreaming about it-"

"You don't dream," Sookie cut in.

"That's not entirely true," Eric told her. "I don't dream while the sun is up, that is true. But I have daydreams the same as any other person. I had a very nice one of you and I together when you were in Jackson."

"Oh really?" Sookie smiled. "Care to share the details?"

"I came to you in Jackson while you were staying with Herveaux," he recounted. "You could smell my memories. You knew that I had played by the North Sea as a child. Then we kissed and you threw me down on the bed behind me and took off your robe-"

"Okay, that's enough," Sookie said, putting the brakes on before Eric planted something in her brain to cause another one of those blood dreams that would keep her awake all night.

"I didn't even get to the best part yet," Eric teased.

"You can keep it to yourself, thank you very much," Sookie laughed quietly.

In a more somber tone Eric asked, "Did you dream of me last night?"

"I think you know the answer to that," she said without looking back at him.

Out of her peripheral vision Sookie saw him nod just once.

"Care to share the details?" he asked.

"You were teachin' me to swordfight," she told him, but he knew there was more to it than that. "You told me you want me to be able to rely on myself if I'm in trouble."

"That's true," Eric agreed.

"Almost every time I've dreamt of you, it's to encourage me to be stronger," she told him. "And I've always found a way to ignore that voice in my head."

"What about this time?" Eric asked.

Sookie turned to look at him. Her eyes flitted around his face, finally focusing on his lips. She leaned over and kissed him softly, pulling back before he could get too into it.

"This time I'm tryin' real hard to listen, which is why I can't take your money," Sookie said.

"And why you can't be mine," he presumed.

"I need to be _mine_ first," she said.

"Fair enough." Eric stood up to give her some space. "I think I'll go back to Shreveport tonight."

Sookie nodded and didn't try to talk him out of it when Eric left her room. She sat for a few more minutes before getting up to finish making her bed.

**xXx**

Bill sat behind his desk trying to figure out what his options were. He appreciated the unsolicited support he got from Jessica where Sookie was concerned. When he thought it about, it didn't seem to look like there was anything romantic going on between Sookie and Eric so maybe it was just a simple business transaction. Of course Northman would want to get his blood into her, just like he did in Dallas. That, in Bill's estimation, was when Sookie had started to slip away from him.

It was the interference from Eric's blood that had caused Sookie to stray and become a little distant from him at times. He had felt her pulling away—not necessarily to get closer to Eric but to sink deeper into herself. Bill remembered her confusion and uncertainty, and the divide that was starting to split them apart needed to be filled in immediately.

Drastic times had called for drastic measures. So he had proposed marriage to her. Their courtship had been brief and he had been under the queen's orders to procure Sookie, but he had known more about her than he had known about his human wife at the time he was married. There were admirable qualities in Sookie. Her sweetness, her good southern manners and her loyalty were all good things. Lately it seemed the woman he had fallen in love with was gone.

Had she been destroyed by too many entanglements with dangerous situations? Were his own actions partially to blame for the downward spiral she started on? More than once he had questioned his own motives in being with her. Yes, it was the initial assignment of the queen that had brought them together, but it wasn't what held his interest. It certainly wasn't what had made him fall in love with her. Just being near Sookie, getting to know her, had been reason enough to love her.

What he didn't know was how to go about getting her back.

Northman was a difficult opponent to go up against, but Bill was convinced that if he found the right angle, Sookie would be powerless to turn her affections back toward him. Taking Eric out of the equation altogether was the most efficient way to go about it. The problem would be actually taking Eric out. So maybe the key was the old adage of keeping his friends close and his enemies closer.

Technically speaking, he had never abdicated his throne, nor had Bill be removed from power. Vampire hierarchy had gone to shit after the Authority crumbled and there were plenty of states that were left in the wind when older vampires had decided to git while the gittin' was good. Order needed to be re-established amongst his kind and the humans needed to see that a new balance could be struck. Mainstreaming—at least for the non-infected vampires—was possible.

The first step to that was to reclaim the throne in his home state. No one had even attempted to make a grab for it, so as far as he was concerned, it was still his. The next step was to restock his sheriffs and assess the death toll for the state of Louisiana. He would need to inventory them and then work on a patrol schedule that would allow them to do their part in the deal that had been reached with the humans in Bon Temps.

The Unity Project proposal hadn't been bullshit. Bill meant it when he suggested that both kinds needed to come together to defeat this common enemy. These infected vampires were a danger to all and the humans who were carriers were a threat to the healthy vampires left. To Bill's way of thinking it just made good sense for everyone to pair off to keep the risks a little lower. It would be even better if such practices were instituted nationwide, but short of glamouring humans that didn't want to participate in such things, Bill was powerless to help humans that weren't interested in being helped.

What he could do, however, is turn Louisiana into a safe haven for humans. It would take a lot of work and a lot of convincing on his part to get other human officials on board with what was happening in Renard Parish but he was willing to do that. It would make for a safer world for all.

...And then Sookie wouldn't need Northman in her life.

Bill reached for the phone and activated the intercom in the dorm. He had work to do, but first he needed to feed.

"Astrid, please report to my office," he said curtly and then hung up.

As soon as he was done feeding he would send off his first email to Eric with the offer of making him sheriff of Area 5 again.

It took a minute but Astrid made her way up from the dorm down below the house. It was the safest place for the humans to stay at night since their scents wouldn't be obvious should any rogue vampires find their way to his property. Bill had contemplated going so far as to construct a tunnel leading to Sookie's home, but had halted those plans for the time being. He could always have it excavated later on once she agreed to be his again. He would be able to move back and forth with ease and it would give Sookie a viable escape route from her home should it ever become compromised.

In the meantime he was just going to have to be patient. He had waited for Sookie before; he could do it again.

There was a soft knock on the office door and then Astrid appeared. She was a little bit curvier than Sookie, but they had the same brown eyes and long blond hair.

"Come in, Astrid," Bill said with a charming smile.

The girl stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Without being told, she untied her robe and let it fall to the floor, revealing her soft skin and lovely curves. Bill's fangs extended as she walked toward him. Astrid sat on his knee and cleared her hair from her throat. She tilted her head to the side in offering to Bill and without hesitating, he leaned forward and bit.

* * *

***runs away cackling***


	8. Fireproof

Chapter 8: Fireproof

"_You keep a lot of secrets and I keep none. Wish I could go back and keep some. You're fireproof. Nothing breaks your heart. You're fireproof, it's just the way you are. You tell me you're waiting to find someone who isn't so hopeless, but there's no one. You're fireproof. Nothing breaks your heart. You're fireproof. How'd you get so far?" -The National_

Sookie slipped out of her car after parking in Alcide's driveway. His truck was there so she knew he was home. She went to the trunk and opened it to retrieve the box of his things she had collected from around her house. It wasn't much, just a few articles of clothing, some toiletries and a few tools he'd left behind on the mud porch after repairing the lawn mower a couple of weeks ago when she accidentally mowed one rock too many. Sookie closed the trunk and then headed for the front door.

This was a first for her, returning the property of an ex-boyfriend. In Bill's case her house had been essentially destroyed at the time they had parted company. Eric had kindly salvaged what could be kept but much of her furniture and clothing needed to be replaced. She presumed that anything that may have belonged to Bill had been thrown away, possibly burned.

Sookie rose her hand and knocked on the front door. She waited patiently for Alcide to come to the door and braced herself for the things he might say to her out of anger if he was able to catch Eric's smell on her. It was amazing to think that just a few drops of his blood was enough to taint her scent from the inside out, but Violet and Bill both had recognized it immediately.

The door opened to reveal him standing there in a pair of his well-worn jeans and one of his flannel shirts with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked tired but that wasn't unusual. His job required he be up early every morning and when he was stressed out, Alcide liked to go for a run in wolf form. During the full moon there were times when he was gone from just after sundown until almost dawn, running as his other self but careful to avoid the Shreveport pack that ran in the woods that bordered Bon Temps.

Alcide's eyes traveled up and down her body, taking in the dress she was wearing. It was a very deep navy blue, almost black with lighter blue and mauve flowers patterned all over it. Her hair was down and held back from her face with a thin headband. She wore black ballerina flats and a steel bracelet that shone like silver and had jewels the color of the mauve flowers on it.

"I told you to keep the key," he said, in lieu of a hello.

"I know you did," Sookie replied, and thrust the box toward him. "I just wanted to bring your things back to you."

"Right," he said, taking the box from her. He inspected the contents and asked, "So does this mean you're with Northman now?"

Sookie sighed. He had a right to be bitter and angry about the way things had ended but he was also the one that forced her to choose between them. What did he expect her to do?

"No, I'm not _with_ Eric now. I told you, Alcide, this deal is about protection. I know that you're strong and that you would do anything to keep me safe, but you're not a vampire and you're definitely not a _group_ of vampires," Sookie pointed out. "If what you truly want is for me to be safe then you have to know that I made the right decision."

She could see the fresh wound on his ego from her reasoning but she couldn't be concerned with that at the moment. Whether his pride wanted to accept it or not, she knew she was right. With Sam referring to her as a 'danger whore' not so long ago, Sookie felt like this was a smart decision.

"You had his blood. I can smell it on you," he said with a snarl.

"Just enough for him to be able to know where I am and if I'm in trouble," Sookie said. "I told him just last night that I'm not his and I won't be until I'm mine first. He seems to understand it and is respecting my wishes."

"For now," Alcide said.

"For now is all I can worry about, Alcide. I don't know where the future is gonna take me any more than you do," she replied. "I'm just tryin' to do what I think is right for myself. I was hopin' that you, of all people, would understand."

"I understand that Northman wants you and will do anything he has to, to make sure he gets what he wants," he said. "I understand that you can't seem to keep away from vampires for very long, no matter how many times you say you're through with 'em. I understand that as soon as I told you I couldn't deal with you takin' Northman's blood, that's exactly what you did!"

Sookie took a step back from him. His eyes were glowing and he was downright scary when he was this angry. Seeing Sookie cower away from him made Alcide calm the fuck down and take a step back of his own.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. He took a series of deep breaths and said, "It's just fuckin' frustrating, Sookie. I finally get my shot and it's all fucked because of a fuckin' vampire. It's always the vampires that fuck everything up."

It dawned on her then that Alcide saw her as a Debbie part two, and that was completely unfair.

"I'm not Debbie," Sookie said. "I didn't go to Eric for fun or out of boredom or because I felt like something was missin' between you and me. He's not the one that ruined our relationship, Alcide. Anything that went wrong between us is because _you and I_ couldn't get it right."

"Because you didn't want to get it right."

"That's not true," Sookie said with a shake of her head. "What I didn't want was someone else callin' the shots for me. I been there, done that and I'm not doin' it again."

Alcide sighed and said, "Then why couldn't we get it right? I don't expect you to be Debbie."

"But you treat me like you do," she said. "I'm not her, Alcide. I'm never gonna be her and as long as you keep seein' her when you look at me it's just never gonna work for us."

"I don't, Sookie."

"What I want from a relationship is a partner, not a warden," Sookie told him. "I know you think you're lookin' out for me with some of the things you say but it's not the way it feels. I need to be in control of my own life right now. I don't know how else to explain it to you."

"Alright, fine. Then be in control. But I'm still going to be looking out for you, and you just need to get over it."

Sookie smiled and stepped forward to give him a loose hug.

"You're a good man, Alcide. The timin' is just awful right now," she said. It always seemed like the timing was off whenever they were in a position to try to make something happen. Maybe that was the universe's way of saying he wasn't the one for her after all.

"It always is," he said as he hugged her.

Sookie tilted her head up and gave him a kiss before she stepped back.

"I should get goin'. There's a curfew in Bon Temps now thanks to the Lubbock incident," she told him.

"Are you going to be alright on money?" he asked.

"I'm figurin' it out. I'll be fine so don't worry about me," Sookie insisted. She definitely didn't mention anything Eric had said about giving her money, and Sookie was sure it would be a gift and not a loan.

"If you need anything, let me know," he said.

"I will," she promised. "Maybe we can have dinner one night next week or something like that. You can come over and I'll cook."

"You mean you don't want steak?" he asked with a smile. It was almost all he knew how to make.

"I think I've had my fill of steak in the last few months. Besides, it looks like the infected vampires are migratin' east so it's probably best I don't take too many unnecessary chances goin' out after dark," she said.

"I'll come to you," he said. "You just say when."

"I'll let you know," Sookie promised as she stepped back. "Take care of yourself, Alcide."

"You too, Sook. Try to stay out of trouble."

"That's my plan," she said with a smile before she turned and walked back to her car to drive home.

**xXx**

Eric's eyes opened at dusk and there was a sense of disappointment when he didn't catch Sookie's scent or the sound of her heart beating. Willa was down the hall in her bedroom. It was nice not being alone in his home. So far she was coming along well. While Tara had a shitty attitude, she had proven to be a decent stand-in for him while he was off getting his shit together. There hadn't been time before he broke out of the camp or before he departed for Sweden to test his child's abilities, but he wanted to get a better sense of her capabilities.

Given that there was an army of rogue vampires out there just waiting to slaughter humans, it seemed like now was as good a time as any to see if she had inherited any special gifts. Eric got out of bed and went down the hall to the room Willa had rested in. He knocked on the closed door and waited for her to call out to him.

"Come in," she called louder than she needed to.

Eric opened the door but remained in the doorway.

"You don't need to shout. You could whisper in the basement and I would hear you," he reminded her.

"Right," she nodded, and looked embarrassed.

"You're still getting used to things," he said casually. "How did things go with Lafayette?"

"Well. His blood tastes good. He said he wants to teach me how to dress though."

"Pam will be thrilled," Eric smirked. "Get dressed. There are some things we need to do this evening."

"Oh alright," she said. "What kind of clothes should I wear?"

"Something comfortable that's easy to move in. I want to test your reflexes, speed and that kind of thing," he informed her. "And I suggest you avoid heels, contrary to whatever Pam has already told you."

Eric had lost count of how many times Pam had broken toes or her ankles because of the shoes she insisted on wearing.

"I hate heels anyway," she said as she started to pull clothing out of her dresser.

"I'll wait for you in the backyard," Eric told her, and then left her room to go back down the hall to get dressed himself.

He pulled on a pair of track pants, a tank top and a pair of running shoes he hadn't worn in a long, long time. He looked like he was going to the gym, like any other human. When he was done he waited out back for Willa to appear. She came out a minute later in yoga pants and a t-shirt with her hair pulled back and a pair of gym shoes.

"Let's start by going for a run," Eric said. "I'll race you to Bon Temps and back."

"Okay," she nodded. "On three?"

Eric nodded and counted down. On three they both took off on foot, running at their top speed to the east toward Bon Temps. Willa kept pace with him for the first five miles but Eric pulled just a little bit ahead of her after that. They both made it to Bon Temps in under twenty minutes. Flying was even faster for him. When they reached the town limits, they stopped near the welcome sign.

"Very good," Eric said to her. "You're faster than the average newborn."

Willa grinned wide at his compliment and said, "It's so weird that I'm not out of breath."

"It'll come in handy if you ever need to stay underwater for an extended period of time," Eric said with a hint of a smile. "Have you tried to fly yet?"

"I can fly?"

"It's possible. I can as could my maker and sister. Pam can as well. I don't know if Tara inherited the gift or not. Just try to concentrate on using all of your energy to make yourself lighter. If you can fly, it will propel you upward."

She nodded and closed her eyes. She seemed to be trying to concentrate, and then she lifted off and blasted into the air with a scream of fear. Eric laughed and took off after her. It had been a while since he'd seen a newborn discover their ability. He caught up to her easily and took her hand in his own.

"I don't like it!" she told him. "I want to go down. How do I go down?"

"Slowly let go of that light feeling, like you're deflating a balloon," he instructed. "If you crash land it's not going to kill you, but it could be painful if you land the wrong way."

"Will I go down slow or fast?"

"It depends on how quickly you let go of the energy," Eric told her and he began to descend slowly toward the ground. "If you just let it all go you'll slam into the ground."

"Okay," she said, and closed her eyes again. After a moment she started to slowly descend, and didn't open her eyes again until her feet were on the ground.

"Now you know you can fly. It comes in handy and you'll get used to it the more you practice," Eric said.

"Do I need to be careful about who sees me do it?"

"I wouldn't just take off in the middle of a crowd," he advised. "It's generally better if the humans don't know we have too many super powers. They're frightened of us enough already without knowing we have extra power they don't."

"Got it."

"Let's try a strength test," he said when he spotted a large, heavy rock just beyond the trees in the woods.

Eric led Willa to it and with little effort on his part, he set it rolling for a good ten feet. By his estimation the rock had to weigh somewhere between two and three hundred pounds. As a human there was no way Willa would be able to move it with a simple shove.

"Can you move that?" he asked her, nodding to the rock.

She walked over to the rock and put her hands on it like Eric had. She pushed on it with more effort and sent it a good distance, but it was just short of how far Eric had managed.

"Not bad," he said. "You'll get stronger as you get older. You'll get faster as well. The more time passes, the better mastery you'll have of your abilities and skills."

"Should I keep practicing?"

"It can't hurt, but it's not like humans who begin to atrophy if they remain stagnant," he told her. Eric moved quickly to collect smaller rocks and a few sticks. Once he had a nice pile he said, "Reflexes… lets see how many of these you can catch."

Willa nodded and Eric began to throw the items at her, aiming in various directions and throwing at different speeds to see what she could take, where her weak spots were and how agile she was. All told, she had been able to catch eighteen of the twenty rocks he had thrown in her direction and the two she had missed had gone above her reach. She was going to need to learn to use those invisible rocket boosters in her feet to reach things she couldn't reach as a human, but that would come in time and with practice.

"Very good," he praised.

"Thank you," she beamed.

"Another night, not until the Hep-V outbreak is cured, we'll have to go out hunting together," he told her. "It's generally a frowned upon practice these days but you never know when you'll need to be able to do it."

"Just for a feed, right?"

"For a feed or other things," he said casually. "Feeding and sex are closely bound for our kind. There's no shame in enjoying both activities."

"Oh, well… I don't want to… I just want to feed."

"The decision is yours to make," Eric said.

"I know it seems silly, but I still want my first time to mean something. I don't want it to be because I'm feeding off of someone I hunted."

"I haven't been a virgin in more than a thousand years. I don't even remember what it's like," Eric said with a sly smile.

By modern standards he was still a boy when he had lost his virginity to one of the servants, thanks to the goading from his brothers. Then after he'd done it he realized it was much better and far more fun than just about any other activity so he had started chasing as many women as he could.

"Well it's even more confusing when you're a vampire."

"Your instincts are telling you to let go," he said knowingly.

"So when you're a vampire your instincts tell you to have sex with anyone?"

"In the beginning, yes," Eric nodded. "The cravings for blood will calm down as you get older and the need to feed will lessen over time."

"Good. The hunger is incredible sometimes."

"It'll get better," Eric said.

"Thank you for teaching me, Eric. I feel a stronger connection to you than to anyone."

"That's as it should be. You had the unfortunate luck of being turned at a time when being a maker wasn't as big of a priority for me as it should have been, but we'll remedy that," he told her.

She smiled and said, "I'm glad. It's nice having you back."

"Next time I decide to leave town I'll bring you along," Eric promised. "I don't suppose Pam has said anything about the other pieces of real estate I own around the world."

The list was considerable and many of them were scattered around Scandinavia, but there were others on various continents.

"She has. I'd love to leave the country one day."

"You will," Eric said. "Pam and I have been all over the world together. Once this Hep-V threat is over we'll take some time and explore."

His responsibilities in Louisiana were essentially nonexistent. He was no longer sheriff of the area, having been removed from power while he was stuck inside the Authority. Fangtasia was close to closing its doors and even if it wasn't, he could still leave the bar in Pam's capable hands while he traveled with Willa. Sookie was the only thing that was keeping him close by, and once the threat was over she would go on with her life and he would go on with his.

"I like the sound of that."

"We'll make plans once it's safer for us to travel," he said. "Are you ready to run back home?"

"Yeah, and I'm going to beat you," she grinned.

"Are you sure about that?" Eric lifted an eyebrow. She was fast, but not _that_ fast. He liked her confidence, however.

"Onetwothreego," she said quickly and took off running.

Eric chuckled again and then chased his daughter back to Shreveport.

**xXx**

Bon Temps was quiet, and mostly dark. Even the Grab-It-Kwik was closed after dark. It was like a ghost town, from all Jessica could tell. After showering and getting dressed she did something she hadn't done in a long, long time. She ran back to her parents' house over in Ruston. She hadn't seen her family since she was still a newborn and terribly homesick for them. Well, for her mother and sister. Her father she didn't miss at all.

She didn't think about him much, but her little sister weighed on her mind quite a bit. In order to protect Eden from their father, Jessica had endured far more punishment than she should have. She worried that without her there as a buffer, Eden was suffering the same awful things she had. Only now there was no one there to protect her. There was no one there to deflect his rage and their mother had never been strong enough to stand up for them.

Jessica stopped outside the house and stuck to the shadows, not wanting to disturb them. There was no sign of her father and she only sensed two heartbeats ticking away inside. With her keener hearing and eyesight she knew that her mother and sister were watching TV in the living room. Eden had grown so much over the last year and a half. Like Jessica, Eden had red hair, pale skin and stunning blue eyes. Both girls were beautiful and as a result, their father had tried to lock them away.

Her father had said it was for their own protection but Jessica saw it differently now. She understood that her father had seen her as property and most likely saw Eden the same way. It was in the Bible, after all, and Jordan Hamby staunchly believed everything he read in the Bible. He was the kind of man that twisted his quotes to suit his needs and was fond of using passages during his punishments to explain why he was being so… violent.

Jessica closed her eyes and willed away the bloody tears in her eyes at the memory of some of the awful things her father had done to her when she was younger, and said a small prayer in the hopes that her sister was faring better than she had. After an hour or so, Jessica gave up and started back toward Bon Temps. She thought about seeking out James but mostly, she wanted to be on her own for a bit. She needed a little space to herself.

When she got back to town, she decided to stop by the Bellefleur house to make sure everything was safe and secure there. Jessica meant it when she said that she would protect Adilyn and Andy, come what may. It was the very least she could do after she drained three of his daughters. It was a miracle that Adilyn had survived and Jessica was hell bent on making sure it stayed that way. There was a little part of her that was angry with Bill for leaving her alone with four half fairy girls. Their scent was so strong and they smelled so good, and her instincts had been screaming at her to feed.

Jessica had fought it off for as long as she could before she couldn't take it anymore. Bill should have known she was feeding and he should have come and stopped her long before she had the chance to drain even one of those girls. Yet he hadn't. He had been too absorbed in whatever he was doing down in the makeshift lab with Professor Takahashi to come and check on her and the girls.

What had been the point of luring the professor away? She knew Bill had wanted to synthesize fairy blood but that hadn't worked out. Instead Bill had drunk the last of the sample that was left so he could go after the governor himself, and it turned out that Burrell wasn't the real danger. Sarah Newlin was an evil bitch that Jessica would feel no shame in taking a bite out of after the things she saw at camp.

So what was the difference from one human life to the next? The christian in her prickled at the idea of playing God, condemning humans to death based on her own beliefs. With Sarah Newlin, however, she had been killing in the name of Jesus for years. She was like Mr. Hamby, cherry picking Bible passages to suit her cause one dead vampire at a time. Jessica had heard through the grapevine about Eric's maker. She hadn't been there herself when Godric broke up the fighting that was going on in the Fellowship, but she had heard stories since then.

Godric nearly predated christianity. Russell Edgington definitely had. Jessica would have liked talking to Russell purely from a theological standpoint but that was never going to happen since he'd met the true death courtesy of Eric a few weeks before. It seemed the landscape was changing a bit more every day for vampires. Just when Jessica was finding her footing it seemed something new was coming along to turn everything on its ear again.

It was both frustrating and challenging. Being an eternal teenager was going to have its pros and cons, but she felt like she was doing her best to navigate the beginning of what should be a very, very long life. At the crux of it all was Bill. Yes, he'd had his moments where he had failed her as her maker. He had flaws and weaknesses just like anyone else did. She didn't put him on a pedestal and think of him like he was superman.

Jessica had her moment while he'd been under the influence of Lilith blood, while he had been comatose and she couldn't reach him. She'd had her time to wonder if he really was God, and if he was, what did that mean for her? Jessica had always been faithful in her beliefs, and not just because her parents were so strictly religious and persistent about hammering home christian values. Jessica was more than old enough to reject things if she didn't believe them to be true, and while her interpretations of biblical passages differed from some of her father's, at her core she knew what she believed.

Mostly, she wanted to be a good person. She wanted to be worthy of an invitation into heaven when she met the true death. She wanted to know what she had done good and that she had made up for the wrongs she had done. Just atoning for one death was going to be hard enough, but three? Having a sister of her own, she knew precisely what it was that Adilyn had lost. Jessica had no idea how she was going to make up for that, but she was going to do everything in her power to try.

That meant swinging by the Bellefleur mansion after dark to make sure that Adilyn wasn't in harm's way. She didn't even want the girl to get a papercut.

Jessica was still standing in the shadows when she saw Andy's squad car pull up to the house. He looked around, gun drawn, to make sure he was alone before he walked toward the house without lowering his weapon. He had yet to spot Jessica since she had offered her protection to him, and she was grateful for it. Hopefully that trend continued because she wanted to stay hidden. She wasn't looking for gratitude or accolades for what she was doing.

As a matter of fact, _she_ was the grateful one because Andy would have been well within his rights to fire three wooden bullets into her heart-one for each of his fallen daughters. Jessica wouldn't even beg him to reconsider it if he chose to do so.

She was grateful that he hadn't but that could change at any time.

Andy went into the house and then locked up behind himself. Jessica remained in the woods beside the house, just keeping watch. Maybe two hours had passed when she heard one of the heartbeats inside level off, suggesting someone had gone to sleep. Another half hour passed before the scent of fairy hit her. Jessica's head snapped to the right and sure enough, there was Adilyn slinking around the side of the house.

She wanted to approach the girl but knew it would just make her panic. So instead, Jessica stayed a safe distance behind. This was precisely why she was making these surprise visits to the Bellefleur house.

They didn't make it far from the house before Adilyn stopped and without turning around she said, "I know you're there. I can feel your brain."

Right. Adilyn was a telepath.

"It's just Jessica," she replied.

"What are you doing here? Why are you following me?" Adilyn turned around to face Jessica.

"I told your dad I was going to make sure you're safe and I meant it. Look, I know all about sneakin' out. That's how I ended up a vampire," Jessica said.

"You didn't want to be turned?" Adilyn asked.

"Nope," Jessica shook her head. "I was taken right off the sidewalk, thrown into the trunk of a car and my maker was forced to turn me as a punishment because he had staked another vampire. I didn't get a choice in the matter and it was the scariest night of my life. No one should ever have to be that scared or that close to dyin' like that. I'm sure it probably doesn't mean too much comin' from me after what I did to you and your sisters but if I could take it back, I would. I am so, so sorry for what I've done and the only way I can see fit to make up for it is to make sure that no one or no _thing_ has a chance to hurt you."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Adilyn said, taking a step closer. "I don't know if I can ever forgive you for what you did to Braelynn, Charlaine and Danika, but I'd like to someday. Before we were even born we were bonded to each other and being telepathic meant we were talking to each other before we were speaking out loud. They were my best friends, my _only_ friends and I'll never see them again."

"I know, and if I could bring them back for you I would," Jessica said sincerely. "I can understand why you don't trust me or why you wouldn't believe me when I tell you I'm not going to hurt you, but will you please just promise me something? Promise me that if you want to leave the house after dark from now on that you'll call me. I won't interfere or get in your business but it's not safe for you to be out here alone."

Adilyn considered it for a moment before she nodded.

"Okay, but only because my dad couldn't take it if he lost me too," she said.

Jessica felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and slowly walked over to Adilyn so she could put her number in there and Jessica did the same with Adilyn's phone. Once the numbers were traded and saved, Jessica stepped back again.

"So, are you going to tell my dad you saw me tonight?" Adilyn asked.

"Only if something happens to you and I don't have a choice," Jessica said. "I don't want to narc you out. I'm not babysitting you, just guarding."

Adilyn nodded again and then turned to continue walking. Jessica gave the girl some space but continued to follow behind her to make sure that Adilyn got wherever she was going safely.


	9. Sin With A Grin

**Okay to there are three things I need to cover here really quick:**

1. Thanks to **Loftin** for an idea that makes its appearance at the end of this chapter because it was just too delicious to pass up.

2. We're not killing off Willa, so the anon reviewer that keeps wishing for it... it's just never going to happen. We like Willa. Deal with it.

3. To the Anon reviewer who asked why I don't post anon reviews... Umm... look in the reviews for this story and then ask me that stupid question again.

**That's all I got. Happy reading!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Sin With A Grin

"_I have no use for apologies. I'm inspired to find the liar. I never noticed, until I focused on everything you did, you said. You lit the fuse inside my head. Thank you for reminding me of why I'm sick inside. Thank you for the venom, did you think it would paralyze? These scars I scratch, I tear are there under my skin where you've always been. Thank you for reminding me to sin with a grin." -Shinedown_

The next day was garbage pickup day and Sookie foolishly forgot to take the trash out earlier before sunset. She slipped on a pair of simple house shoes and emptied the trashcan inside the house, figuring she might as well get rid of it. Dragging the large cans on wheels was always a bit of a gamble but it would be easier on her with her extra boost of strength and dexterity courtesy of Eric's blood. She didn't make too much garbage anyway so it wasn't that bad.

It was a nice night in Bon Temps. A little warmer than usual, but nothing to complain about now that Eric had updated her house to include central heating and air conditioning. She was going to have to limit how often she ran either of those things until the curfew was lifted. A window unit would be better at the moment. Then she would only have to cool her bedroom. As it was, she had the windows open all over the house and the ceiling fans going in every room she could. The house was fairly comfortable. Since Eric wasn't around she could sleep naked if she wanted to.

Thanks to Eric's blood her libido was also hopped up a few notches so on her walk down the driveway to the road where she would be leaving the garbage cans, she had some time to think about what sort of yummy things could happen if Eric just decided to pop over while she was sleeping and discovered her in her birthday suit. Knowing how good he was in bed made it that much harder for her not to pick up the phone and tell him to just come on over. There was a little voice in the back of her head telling her it was only a matter of time before she caved and gave in to his advances.

This time wouldn't be like last time. Before, Eric hadn't really known what he was signing up for by getting involved with her. This time she knew what it would mean to him to say those two little words he wanted to hear-I'm yours. It would change everything irrevocably and that was what kept her from saying it. Once it was out there, that was it. There wouldn't be any going back.

Eric was intense and passionate and it was scary knowing that once she gave herself over to him, that would be it. She had seen enough of him when he was without his memories to know that there would be no changing her mind or taking it back, and she could only assume that his intensity would be that much stronger now that he had his full faculties at his disposal. If she was ever going to go there, she needed to be absolutely sure about it and at the moment, she wasn't sure.

So it was best if she didn't go around making promises she couldn't keep. With Bill she hadn't really known what it meant when she agreed to be his. Sookie also realized that Bill had poisoned her against Eric from the beginning, making him seem much more intimidating than he really was. His blood had made her extra defensive and suspicious of Eric's motives. He had tricked and deceived her in the past, but he had also come for her when Bill didn't. He had thrown his body over hers when Luke had come to Godric's home, strapped with dynamite. It was Eric who had planned and orchestrated her release from the Moon Goddess Emporium and he had saved her from the werewolf that had broken into her home after Bill had gone missing.

Even after she had rejected his advances, Eric's protection had extended to her and he was the one she looked to for reassurances when Bill pretended to glamour her in that creepy, old asylum the night they located Russell Edgington. It was Eric nearly draining Warlow that had saved her from being turned, even though he had no idea he was doing it at the time. He had stopped Nora from making a meal of her and through it all, he was the only one who seemed to see her the way she wanted to be seen.

He didn't make a fuss over the otherness about her and when he was asked about it, he had simply gone with the answer she would have given herself instead of giving up one of her most closely guarded secrets, even though he had trusted Nora. Eric respected her, appreciated her and saw her worth long before she ever did.

And she loved him for it in more ways than she could ever possibly hope to express.

Her hesitation wasn't because she was unsure of how she felt about him, or whether or not it was influenced by his blood. Sookie knew in her heart that she loved him. Long ago, or so it seemed, she had decided it was better not to try and fight it. The same could be said for Bill, only the Bill she dealt with now wasn't the man she had fallen in love with. That Bill was dead. She had watched his body dissolve into a puddle on the Authority headquarters' floor before her very eyes, but in truth that Bill had died the night she found out that he had been lying to her all through their relationship. Everything between them was a lie.

She wasn't sure who or what Bill was now, but she knew she didn't love him the way she once had. Because he was her first in so many ways she supposed she would always feel a pull toward him but that didn't mean she felt compelled to follow it like she had before. She was stronger than the pull now and her heart was leading her in another direction.

It was possible that she and Alcide could have brokered some sort of treaty but she knew it would always be in the back of his mind that she could leave him at any moment, that she could choose Eric over him. She didn't want Alcide waiting for the other shoe to drop and it wasn't fair to her to constantly feel like she had to explain herself to him. It was just best that they went their separate ways. She had tried being normal but it wasn't working.

That Sookie wasn't who she was meant to be either.

It left her feeling a little bit lost, to tell the truth. She wasn't sure where she fit in. The last time she had felt like she belonged somewhere was when Gran was still alive and it turned out that even Gran had betrayed her. Gran had known about the contract with Warlow and had withheld it from her. Was Gran really just going to hand Sookie over when Warlow came calling? Had she just been biding her time until the day came?

Since her own parents had tried to kill her not once, but twice, it wasn't as big of a stretch as it would have been a year before. It was disappointing to know that the people she had started out loving the most had betrayed her at every turn. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Sookie was afraid Eric would end up being another disappointment to her. Experience had taught her that she trusted to easily, and usually the wrong people. What if her instincts about Eric were all wrong?

She couldn't bear going through another betrayal like the one Bill had committed against her. It was too awful knowing that she had given everything she had to him, only to find out that it was all a sham. He said he loved her but if that was true, how could he ever hurt her the way that he did? Why hadn't he just confessed about the reason he had been sent back to Bon Temps in the first place? She never should have had to hear it from Eric.

When she thought of how close she had come to dying that night the Rattrays had beaten her, she got angry all over again. That anger was what fueled her and kept her away from Bill when the fairy part of her flared and wanted to go looking for something dangerous. Bill shouldn't have been trusted then and she certainly didn't trust him now.

Sookie turned and headed back toward the house once the trashcan was parked at the end of the driveway. If it was safer she would have gone for a walk in the cemetery as she had so many times before. It might seem a bit macabre to find comfort in a place designated for death and mourning, but that was where she could find her loved ones. Most of them anyway. The cemetery never bothered her because it allowed Sookie to open up her mind and not worry about hearing someone's thoughts. She could speak her peace and then go home feeling a little lighter.

Tomorrow, she decided, she would go but she would avoid the Stackhouse family section because she was fresh out of nice things to say to any of them, even Gran.

Sookie made her way back to the house and was just getting to the porch when she spotted Bill approaching from the trees.

"What are you doin' here?" Sookie asked.

"You shouldn't be out alone. It's not safe," Bill said. He was walking toward her with purpose and it made the hair on Sookie's arm stand up.

"That's close enough," she said firmly, but Bill didn't stop.

In fact he moved at vampire speed and held Sookie against the wall by her throat. His fangs were out and he looked into her eyes as he said, "It wouldn't have to be like this if you would just have agreed to be mine."

Before Sookie could ask what the fuck Bill was talking about, his fangs were buried in her throat. Sookie screamed and the light in her hands activated. She pushed on Bill's chest and her light sent him flying a good twenty-five feet back. She turned and ran into the house, making sure to lock the door behind her.

"Sookie!" Bill hollered from the front porch and banged on the door.

Angry tears filled her eyes as she went to the kitchen for a clean towel to press against her wounds. Sookie had no clue where Eric was, but she hoped he could feel her anger and hurt. She found a towel and pressed it to the bite on her neck and waited for Bill to either go away or for Eric to come and chase him off.

**xXx**

Eric had just finished getting dressed after his shower when he felt it in his blood. Sookie's fear and panic. Without a second thought he took off, taking to the sky as soon as he was outside. He closely monitored her feelings as he flew and didn't feel that she was scared for her life anymore, but she was still frightened, and angry.

Ten minutes later he touched down outside her house. He caught the distinct scent of Bill, but when he didn't sense anyone outside he sped in to find Sookie. He found her sitting at the kitchen table with a bloody towel held against her neck.

"What happened?" he growled as he knelt beside her and pulled the towel back just enough to see distinct fang marks.

"I was bein' stupid and I took my trash out for collection tomorrow. I was comin' back to the house when Bill appeared. He got me up against the wall right by the door and bit me," she said angrily and wiped at her tears. "I shot him with my light and came inside, but he still got me."

Eric pricked his finger on one of his fangs and gently touched the bites to heal them. Bill tore at her skin because he had been too rough.

"I will end him," he said in a menacing tone.

"I shouldn't have been outside. I coulda waited until dawn," Sookie said, and her mood shifted a little. She was still angry but she also felt guilt.

"You should have waited for me," Eric said. "But you know that now, and there isn't any sense in feeling guilty for it. You are lucky you have those hands."

"Yeah," she sniffled and winced when she turned her head. "Why do I do stupid things like this? I knew better but there I was, practically skippin' along like my ass is made of teflon…"

Eric took the towel from her and got up to rinse it out with cold water. Then he grabbed a paper towel and wet it before gently wiping the blood from Sookie's neck.

"You've never been the type to not do something because of fear," he told her.

"But I wasn't even scared when I left the house. I knew the risk and I went anyway."

"Some would call that being fearless," he said with a small smile.

"Maybe I'd be one of 'em if I didn't always end up gettin' hurt," she said. "Thank you for healin' my neck. One of these days I should leave marks there as a reminder of what happens when I do stupid things."

"No," he said as he stroked her neck with his thumb. "This beautiful neck should never be marred."

"Can I ask you something?" she asked quietly, her emotions hopping all over the place.

He nodded once.

"What is it about me that keeps you comin' back? By now you have to know that I attract trouble like nobody's business. Why do you bother?"

He smiled and said, "Haven't you figured out by now that I like trouble?"

The corner of her mouth lifted for just a moment before she shook her head.

"You should be gettin' hazard pay for signin' up to deal with me," she said.

"Probably," he joked.

"You're not helping!" she said, but she was laughing too.

"Don't worry so much about what I've gotten myself into. I'm here because I want to be."

"But why?" she asked softly.

"Because you are a human worth being around," he said. "You are… still the amazing woman who took care of me after everything I'd done to you. Even before that, you never took my shit. You're a challenge, Sookie. In the best way. From the moment you walked into my bar."

She sniffled and nodded.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Please stop crying."

"I'm tryin'," she said with a small smile. "I'm just so mad at myself."

"There's no point in that," he said as he gently wiped her tears away.

Sookie took a deep breath, closed her eyes and Eric could feel her calming down a little bit.

"You're right," she agreed after a few seconds passed. "I'm sorry if you got pulled away from something important. You don't have to stay. I doubt he'll come back after that shock I gave him."

"I think I'll stay if that's alright with you."

"It's fine," she nodded.

"Alright, then you must figure out a way to entertain me."

Sookie lifted an eyebrow. She thought for a moment and then asked, "How are you at Charades?"

"I have never played."

"Not even in the '70s?" she asked.

"No."

She giggled and said, "I bet you looked good in a leisure suit."

"I look good in anything."

Sookie snorted and stood up to go to the sink to rinse the blood from the towel she'd used, and then took it out to the mud porch to go in the wash next time she did a load. When she came back into the house she went to one of the cupboards and reached into it for a little bottle of vitamins.

After she took one she asked, "Do you need to feed?"

"I won't tonight, not after you lost blood."

"The towel got more of it than Bill did," she said, turning to lean against the counter.

Sookie reached up and took the elastic tie from her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders. She sighed and tilted her head a little from side to side, gently stretching her neck.

"You still lost it, no matter who or what you lost it to."

"This is probably gonna sound a little strange, but how often do you need to feed? Bill always seemed to feed every time we were together," she told him.

"Younger vampires need to feed more often than I do," he said. "I only truly need to once every few days. If I am only sustaining myself on TruBlood, I need it more often."

"Good to know."

"How often did Bill feed from you?"

"It probably averaged out to be like every other day," she said.

"Did he always take a lot?"

"Enough that I was always tired the next day," Sookie admitted.

Eric rolled his eyes and muttered, "Babies."

"After the first time he suggested I start takin' vitamins so I'd replenish my blood faster," she told him.

"You should never have to take vitamins with me."

"You do seem to have better control of yourself than Bill did," Sookie says. "He was a messy eater. Sorry, I probably shouldn't talk about this with you."

"No, please tell me more about how much better I am than Bill," he smirked. "I'm sure there are many more ways."

Sookie snickered and rolled her eyes.

"I don't think your ego needs anymore strokin'," she said.

"I can think of something else that needs stroking if you're willing."

"Oh yeah?" Sookie asked innocently.

"Yeah," he grinned.

"Am I supposed to guess?" Sookie asked and started walking closer to him slowly.

Eric then took all of the guesswork out of it when he sped to stand right in front of her and put her hand on the part of his body in question.

Sookie gasped and said, "I guess I shoulda seen that comin'."

She didn't move her hand away.

"Yes, you should have," he said, and started to lean down for a kiss.

Sookie didn't pull away from that either. Her lips molded against his perfectly, and Eric didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss quickly. When she melted into him his fingers found their way into her hair to hold her there as they kissed.

This was the first time since he had no memory of himself that they were kissing just because. There was no blood involved, no other man in her life, and Eric allowed himself to feel hopeful that this would be the beginning of something new for them. All she really needed to do was to say the words and he would be hers.

**xXx**

Alcide was stretched out on his couch watching a baseball game when a car pulled into his driveway. He muted the television and listened for who was coming to the door. By scent he knew it wasn't Sookie at his door, but he knew who it _was_ and it made him growl. He got up off the couch and went to the front door.

"What the fuck do you want?" Alcide asked when he found himself face to face with Rikki.

"That's no way to talk to the mother of your pups," she said.

His eyes traveled down and sure enough, her stomach had grown since the last time they saw one another. It was just a few weeks before he and Sookie had started dating. There had been a few too many shots of whatever was handy and the next morning he regretted it.

"How do I know they're mine?" he asked just to be a dick to her. Rikki had been nothing but a pain in his ass since he met her.

"Don't you fuckin' accuse me of lyin' about this," she growled, and her eyes glowed. She couldn't shift while pregnant, but she could still look like a mean bitch.

"You lied about other things," Alcide said nonchalantly. "Why should this be any different?"

"Because I wouldn't lie about this, Alcide. My baby deserves its real dad, and that's you."

"How far along?" he asked.

Alcide was suspicious of Rikki but felt he had every right to be. She had proven herself to be a shady character and when she didn't get her way, she had a tendency to throw some wicked temper tantrums.

"Just over seven months," she said. "Timing sound about right to you?"

Fuck. It was spot on.

"Why'd you wait so fuckin' long to tell me?" he demanded.

Alcide never wanted kids. That was one of the biggest problems he and Debbie had. She wanted pups and he didn't. He had no interest in it whatsoever. Growing up a werewolf had made him an outsider and he didn't want that for his kids. He really didn't want it if he had a daughter that ended up wolf. He knew how the women were treated and he didn't want that for his little girl. That was part of the reason why he had been so interested in Sookie. There was no chance of having wolves with her.

"Because I knew you wouldn't want me to have it. And you were with that blonde skank."

Alcide growled and his eyes glowed the same as Rikki's had moments before.

"You watch your fuckin' mouth. You don't know the first thing about Sookie, and pregnant or not, the next nasty thing you say about her will get you thrown as far I can manage," he warned her.

"You don't have the balls to hurt your fuckin' kid," she growled.

Alcide stepped closer to her and said, "Don't test me, bitch."

The two of them glared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them willing to back down. If Rikki had learned her place, maybe they'd still be together.

"Where is she now? Was she too much of a goody two-shoes for the big bad wolf? Need a real woman again?"

"If I did I wouldn't come looking for you," Alcide retorted, earning him another growl from her.

"Fuck you, you piece of shit. You'd be nothing without me. You couldn't even handle a fucking pack," she growled again.

"I never wanted the pack," Alcide said with a shrug. "I just didn't want J.D. running it. I walked away because I wanted to. I could have killed you that night you challenged me and we both know it. You're only _alive_ because I let you live."

"I'm alive because you don't have the guts to fuckin' kill me."

"You're not worth it."

She glared at him and then asked, "So are you going to own up to this or not?"

"I'll let you know at the next run," he told her, and then slammed the door in her face before she could say anything more.

Alcide had made his share of mistakes when it came to relationships but Rikki was by far the biggest disaster of them all. He ran his hand threw his hair and headed straight for the kitchen to have a drink. After tossing back two shots and not feeling any better he decided he needed to go for a run.

Alcide climbed into his truck and headed for Bon Temps to run in the woods near Sookie's house. If it wasn't too late by the time he was done, maybe he could pop in for a chat. If nothing else, maybe she'd have some pearls of wisdom for him on how to deal with this. The drive to Bon Temps didn't take too long and he pulled into the cemetery to park his truck there since no one would bother patrolling in that area to notice it was there.

He stripped out of his clothes and left them in the front seat of the truck before letting the wolf take over. It felt good to let the power course through his body, and without hesitating, he took off running. He followed scents and trails, chasing squirrels, possums, racoons and any other creatures he could scent. He savagely killed as many creatures as he could until he'd had enough. He wasn't sure if it really helped him figure out what he was going to do, but for a while it had distracted him from his problem.

When he shifted back to his human form he guessed about two hours had passed. It was a gamble, showing up at Sookie's house butt naked but it wasn't like she hadn't seen it all before. He walked to the edge of the tree line and stopped in his tracks when he looked into the kitchen window. He could hear Sookie's soft moans and his eyes focused on the sight of her straddling Northman's lap.

She was bare from the waist up and his cold, dead hands were all over her. Northman was missing his shirt as well and it was obvious they weren't planning on stopping what they were doing any time soon. Alcide growled and considered shifting and jumping through the kitchen window to attack Northman, but the idea of Sookie getting hurt in the scuffle stopped him. She had been through enough already.

So instead he shifted back to wolf form and started his run all over again.


	10. Drumming

**Alright, I don't want to devote too much time to this since it took up way too much of my time yesterday. However, I feel I should address it here as well. Over the course of this story I have received various Guest comments that were completely unnecessary, and one in particular yesterday that was just plain rude, judgmental and nasty. It had nothing to do with the story, but was commentary on _my_ character. If you want to read my reaction to that review, please feel free to go over to my wordpress account and read all about it, including the subsequent comments I got here on FFN from the reader.**

**Due to that and another guest review I got last night from someone else (you know who you are, and yes you're well within your right to not like Willa but perhaps it would be wise not to read a story that features her if you dislike her so much. No one is forcing you to read this, sweetie.) telling me to relax, I have made an executive decision. This is the last chapter of this story that I will be posting to this site. The remaining chapters will go up solely on the blog I share with Scribeninja. The address will be included at the end of the chapter if you aren't already following us there.**

**I'm not really known for keeping my mouth shut when I see some bullshit happening. I defend friends that get attacked so why wouldn't I defend myself? I don't tolerate people treating me like shit for no reason in my regular life so I'm sure as shit not letting it happen here. If you don't like it, then fuck off. It sucks to punish the awesome readers who review anonymously, but I'm just over dealing with people who don't have the courage to sign their name to reviews and they don't deserve any more of my time or attention so this seems like the easiest way to remedy the problem since the anon from yesterday proved they're just going to keep responding to me anonymously. It's pathetic and I don't want to deal with it.**

**As always, thanks for reading!**

**~Meg**

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Chapter 10: Drumming

"_As I move my feet towards your body I can hear this beat it fills my head up, and gets louder and louder. It fills my head up and gets louder and louder. There's a drumming noise inside my head that starts when you're around. I swear that you could hear it, it makes such an all mighty sound. Louder than sirens, louder than bells. Sweeter than heaven and hotter than hell." -Florence + the Machine_

Hunger. Bill hadn't felt hunger like this since he was a newborn vampire. It was the strangest feeling. He hadn't planned on biting Sookie when he'd left his house, but her scent had wafted his way on a breeze and it was too intoxicating to pass up. She was so delicious. Every bit of her was positively delectable and he found that he _needed_ to taste her.

It didn't matter what it cost him; he just needed her taste on his tongue.

Astrid wasn't an acceptable substitute but she was going to have to do. Bill didn't hesitate to sink his fangs into her the second she entered his bedroom. He needed to feed and fuck and lose himself in it. Over and over he bit, revelling in her cries and pleas for him to slow down. He couldn't get deep enough inside her with his fangs… or other parts.

He flipped them over and she was too weak to ride him so he had to move her body for her. It wasn't enough so he turned them over again and flipped her onto her stomach. Still not enough.

"Bill, please…" Astrid whimpered and when she turned her head he saw that she was pale and crying, and yet he couldn't make himself stop.

He needed more.

So he called for another donor.

And then another.

And still he felt the same hunger. It just wouldn't leave him.

He had nearly drained three women and had come more times in a night than he had in more than a decade and he wasn't anywhere near sated.

So he called for a fourth donor, since there was no way he could stop. He couldn't control the urges he was feeling. It was definitely to Sookie's benefit that she had zapped him with her light or he would have drained and desecrated her body in every way he could imagine. He would have fucked her until her bones were broken and her heart stopped beating, and even then he would have given her his blood just to revive her and do it all over again.

He felt like he was descending into madness but he couldn't stop.

He needed more.

**xXx**

"Eric," Sookie panted between kisses. "We should stop."

In her mind she knew that was the smart thing to do, but she had already proven time and again that she didn't always do the smart thing. Her body was aching for him in ways that it never had in the past. She wanted him so badly, but worried she would regret it in the morning when he was dead for the day and she was left alone with her thoughts.

Yet she kissed him again and rocked her hips against his, stroking that part of him that he had said was in need of stroking. Only she wasn't using her hand like he had suggested.

"If you want to, we will," he said.

"I don't know what I want," she admitted, and tilted her head to the side when he kissed her neck.

"Do you like the way this feels?" he asked, and kissed her neck again.

"I think you know the answer to that," she said with a smile and lifted his head to kiss his lips. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he stood up once his arms were wrapped around her.

Sookie wrapped her legs around his waist and he pressed her against the nearest wall. She couldn't seem to stop kissing him, no matter how many times she told herself to stop. She knew his blood was a factor in what was happening, but it wasn't calling the shots.

"This is your choice, Sookie," Eric whispered against her lips.

Sookie looked him in his eyes and said, "If we do this, it doesn't mean I'm yours."

She wasn't ready for that.

"Okay," Eric nodded.

"I mean it," she said firmly.

"I understand perfectly."

That was all she needed to hear, and her lips were back on his. Eric pulled her away from the wall and instead of taking her upstairs, he went for the cubby in the living room.

"You think I'm spendin' the whole night with you?" Sookie asked with sass as he descended the ladder.

"I know you will," he growled. "This is our first time when I'm completely me. We'll need all night."

Sookie's breath caught and the intensity in his eyes told her he wasn't being arrogant. She already knew he had the skill to back up his claim and she would be lucky if she could get her body to cooperate with her commands by the time she needed to be up for work.

"I might have to call in sick tomorrow," she blurted out.

"Yes, you might," he agreed.

Eric laid her down on the bed so his body was hovering over hers. Their lips met again and since their shirts were already strewn about in the kitchen, it was the button his jeans that Sookie went after. The little noises he made went straight to her spine and sent tingles through her body. No sooner did she have his jeans open than Eric was a blur of movement to get rid of them, and he took Sooke's shorts with them.

"That's efficient," she said with a snicker.

"There are many things about me that are," he grinned and settled back on top of her.

"You're gonna have to refresh my memory," Sookie told him, letting her fingertips graze up and down his ribs.

He grinned down at her, and in the next second his head was between her legs. Sookie cried out and grabbed at the comforter. Her thighs started to close around his head so Eric pushed them open again. His tongue was moving at vampire speed at just the right spot and Sookie's back arched off the bed.

"Oh… don't stop…" she moaned and one of her hands went to his hair to hold him in place.

Eric growled and kept going until she released, and even then he only let up long enough to let her ride it out before he started again. Sookie released a low moan and felt her body tremble. This was exactly what she had been missing out on and there was a part of her that was glaring in the corner of her mind for denying herself all the yummy feelings floating through her. Eric was relentless and only stopped when she pushed his head away after her third release.

"Too much," she whispered, her eyes starry.

Eric smiled against her thigh and then kissed her there before letting his lips kiss a trail all the way back up to her lips.

"I forgot you never run out of energy," she said between deep breaths.

"If you forgot, I didn't do it right."

"I think I'll remember this time," she said.

"I know you will."

Maybe even more important, Eric would remember too. When he kissed her she could taste herself on him, and when he rolled them over she settled easily on top of him. Her hips rocked and teased him until the look in his eyes told her to get on with it. Of course Sookie didn't and instead leaned in to lick one of his fangs.

Eric growled at the sensation and then held her to him so he could kiss her hard. Without breaking the kiss, Sookie lifted her hips and put him at her entrance. She moaned when she started to sink down, and the guttural groan that came from Eric made her ovaries tingle. Eric was the one to break the kiss, but he held her face in his hands to watch her eyes as she took more and more of him inside her. Her eyes closed briefly at the halfway point, but a command from him for her to open her eyes was enough to get them open again.

There was that blazing intensity, the kind that spoke directly to her. Sex could be just sex for vampires, but she knew that wasn't the case for her and Eric. They could never have a casual sex kind of relationship because whether or not either of them chose to address it, they both knew there was love between them. She could see it mixed in with the lust and desire in his eyes. It was in the way he kissed her and the way he was gentle with her when he could have been much more savage.

He was big, but filled her perfectly and once Eric was as deep inside her as he could get, Sookie started to rock her hips again. His lips reclaimed hers and their bodies moved together perfectly, just like they had when his memories were missing. Eric sat up and Sookie wrapped her arms around his neck for better leverage while she rocked her hips faster and faster.

She cried out and her head fell back, exposing her throat to him. Eric kissed her pulse point and sucked on it, but he did not bite, and she knew he wouldn't. Sookie began to rise and fall with Eric's large hands supporting her backside. Her forehead pressed to his and their eyes locked as she got closer and closer to another stunning release.

Eric's lips grazed hers and when Sookie boldly licked his other fang, he shifted them around so that Sookie was on her back, caged beneath him. Her legs hitched up so that he knees were near his ribs and their mouths met over and over again. Sookie's moans grew louder between kisses until finally she couldn't hold back anymore. Her legs squeezed him tighter and her fingertips dug into his back as she came.

He held still and groaned as he felt the full effect of her release. His lips attached themselves to her neck again until she caught her breath, and then they were back on hers as his hips slowly began to move.

Just as it was the first time they were together the night Eric's life had been spared, once wasn't enough. They rolled around the bed and when that wasn't enough, Sookie found herself wrapped around Eric with her back against the wall. At one point Eric fell to the floor with her on top of him and somehow Sookie ended up bent over the mattress with her feet on the floor. By the time they were finished, she couldn't stand on her own and her heart felt like it was going to thump its way right out of her chest.

She lie on the bed trying to catch her breath while Eric played with her hair.

"After that, I don't know how I could ever be with a human," Sookie whispered.

"I don't know either," he said with a small, yet cocky, smile.

"You weren't lyin' about the six hour stamina thing were you?" she asked, turning her head toward him.

"No, I was not," he said. "And I wasn't kidding about Bill's stamina either. He's an idiot if he wouldn't even attempt to drag out sex with you."

"I never answered your question that night," Sookie reminded him. "But I'm sure he did the best he could."

"Exactly," he chuckled. "And I'll bet he doesn't know how to do it without biting either."

"I don't really think that's any of your business, mister," Sookie said. She was too much of a lady to go into details about her sex life with Bill. It seemed crass to compare the two vampires out loud. She knew which she preferred and that was all that mattered.

"It's not as though I haven't witnessed some of his more violent sexcapades myself," he said. "But you're right, it is unpleasant to imagine him with you."

Sookie turned on her side and propped her head up on her hand. "What are you talkin' about with the violent sexcapades?"

"In 1905, the year I turned Pam, she was running a brothel," he said. "Many of her girls were being raped and drained, and she kept having to cover up the murders. She intrigued me, and when I got closer to her and found out what was going on we discovered that it was Bill and Lorena doing it."

Sookie wasn't sure what was more surprising to her; the fact that Bill had engaged prostitutes or that Pam had been a madame.

"Bill was rapin' and drainin' prostitutes?" she asked. It shouldn't have been shocking to her given all the other secrets he had kept buried, but for some reason this one got her.

"Yes. I suppose he would argue that it was Lorena's obviously insane influence that made him do it, but I can assure you that he enjoyed himself. And I heard years later that the two of them were slaughtering humans in speakeasies in the '20s."

"Wow," Sookie said because it was the only thing she could think of.

Her experiences with Lorena were limited but neither of them had been pleasant. It was obvious she was obsessed with her progeny and she brought out a side of Bill that was so unlike the man she thought she knew. While this information was a shock to her system, she had no reason to believe Eric was lying or exaggerating the facts to make Bill look worse.

"You know I heard somewhere before that vampires aren't supposed to be able to kill their makers. Is that true?" Sookie asked.

"Your maker can command you not to kill them, and chances are they are smarter, stronger and faster than you. So the likeliness of you being able to kill your maker is slim, but not impossible."

Sookie nodded and rolled onto her back. She had wondered about how Bill had been able to assist her with Lorena's death. It was obvious he was tired of her having a hold over him. Sookie had killed the vampire because she was a threat to Bill, but also because she had threatened Sookie's own well-being more than once. Mostly, though, she knew she had done it for Bill and she started to wonder if he had somehow planned for that to happen.

"You know I killed Lorena but Bill helped," Sookie confessed.

"I am not surprised. Bill manages to kill every woman who holds power over him."

"I guess that makes me lucky then," she said, but it was disturbing to know that she was the only survivor.

"I'm not sure if he would have killed you. Bill believes he has the power over you, not the other way around. Lorena, the Queen, Nan Flanagan, even Salome all had a position above him, and he didn't like it."

"I'm not sure that's comforting," Sookie said. "It's disappointin' and frustratin' to know that I was so blind to who he really is."

"It wasn't your fault. He got his blood into you too early."

That was true but Sookie also knew that she needed to take some kind of responsibility for what had happened. It wasn't her fault that he had arranged for the Rattrays to beat her the way they had, but there had been times when her instincts had told her to run the other way as fast as she could. There had been red flags all over the place and she had turned a blind eye to them. Was it all because of his blood or was she just that needy for love and attention that she was willing to ignore the things she knew were wrong? It was easy to blame the blood and absolve herself from taking any of the responsibility for what she had done, but if she did that was she really learning anything from her mistakes?

"You know I never had his blood when I wasn't injured," Sookie said. "The time that you and I exchanged blood down here in the cubby was the only time I did something like that."

Eric smiled and said, "Good. That means you only really willingly had vampire blood with me."

"That's not entirely true," Sookie said. She sat up and turned her body toward Eric's. "While Warlow was tied up in Fairy I had sex with him and we exchanged blood."

Eric raised an eyebrow and said, "And he didn't coerce you into taking his blood?"

"No," she shook her head. "The day it happened was the day he saved me from being drowned in the river when Lafayette was possessed by my father. I took him to Fairy so he would be safe from Billith and I just needed to feel like I was in control and making choices in my own life. So while he was tied up, we had sex and I bit him."

"And did his blood do anything strange to you seeing as he was a hybrid?" he asked. He didn't seem to care that she'd had sex with him.

"Nothing stranger than what Bill's blood did. There weren't any trips to Swedish mountains where it snowed even though the sky was clear, if that's what you're askin'," Sookie replied with a smile. "That trip we went on was unique to you and me. Is that normal?"

"Not that I know of, but then again I don't exchange blood with humans. I think the circumstances had a lot to do with it too. We exchanged blood on purpose, and with love, fully knowing what we were doing."

"So you're sayin' I chose you," she said. "Do you think the same thing would happen if we exchanged like that again?"

"Maybe not exactly the same, but I would imagine something similar would happen."

"Would there be consequences for doin' that again?" she asked.

"It would strengthen our connection," he said. "And if we were to do it three times, we would be bonded."

"What does that mean?" Sookie had never heard of whatever it was Eric was talking about. She was still a little shaky on all the side effects of having a vampire's blood at all, despite having had Bill's so many times. He had conveniently left out a few things after she'd first had it, and it hadn't occurred to her that Bill had omitted things after she'd had Eric's blood in Dallas.

"It would mean that you could feel my feelings and moods as well as I can yours. We would be able to influence each other's moods if we wished, and we would be forever connected."

Sookie inhaled sharply. That sounded like a big deal.

"Is that… do you want one of those with me?" she had to ask. Sookie wanted to know what Eric saw for them in the future and it seemed a bond could be part of that.

"I have never bonded before," he said, and paused for a moment before looking her in the eyes. "But if I were to bond, and if it is something you were completely agreeable to, I would bond with you."

"It sounds like a very big commitment," she said. "I don't think I'm ready to be thinkin' about something like that."

"No, neither of us are," he admitted. "I'm not sure if it's something I want either. It would be very painful for me if we bonded and you died. I have seen vampires meet the sun over a bonded dying. It's why it's so rare."

"Eric, I don't want you meetin' the sun if something happens to me," Sookie said firmly. "If that's what formin' a bond will do to you, then I don't want it. Too many people have already died because of me. I couldn't stand it if you ended up on that list too."

"And that is a good reason why it's something we both would have to think about. Not every vampire kills themselves over a bonded's death. But the ones who don't are forever changed. You know that I have a very strong will to live."

"I do," she nodded, "and I don't want you to spend eternity in mournin' over me."

"We always mourn those we love," he said quietly.

Sookie was sure he was referring to Godric and Nora. It was painful to see him still so devastated over those losses. She lay down on her back and tugged him closer, remembering how much solace it seemed to give him to listen to her heartbeat. Eric snuggled into her easily and for a moment she thought she heard him purring.

There was no more talking after that, just the quiet snuggling. Sookie let herself drift off to the gentle sensation of Eric's fingertips tracing up and down her side, soothing her into a deep, comfortable sleep.

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**To read more of this story please go to .com. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Author's Note

**I know I'm not supposed to do this but I'm doing it anyway because if the story gets pulled for it, I don't really care. **

**This site sucks when it comes to links. Therefore, if you want to locate the Brainmates Blog you can do so by going to my profile because there is a link there that will take you to it. If that doesn't work you can google search 'brainmatesfic wordpress' and you'll get a link there. **

**Make sure you click on the follow button on the right side of the screen to enter your email address. Then you will get alerts for everything we post. Additionally, if you're already following my regular wordpress, Storiesforevy, kjwrit, Missy Dee or Scribeninja I believe you'll see a link for the Brainmates blog in the sidebar of their blogs since we follow each other.**

**Thanks for making the transition over there!**

**Meg**


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